Malevolence
by zfj
Summary: Cell returns and seeks revenge, however, he needs to learn more about Gohan before he is guaranteed victory. What better way to do this than to become an OSH student and learn the secret behind the young Saiyan? What will this mean for Gohan, Videl and their friends? Gohan Videl romance.
1. Return to Earth

Summary: Cell returns and seeks revenge, however, he needs to learn more about Gohan before he is guaranteed victory. What better way to do this than to become an OSH student and learn the secret behind the young Saiyan? What will this mean for Gohan, Videl, and their friends?

Malevolence

 **Chapter 1: Return to Earth** _edited 02/28/2018_

Deep in the dark depths of the underworld, an epic battle was ensuing. The clashes of energy reverberated throughout the darkness of hell.

"Is there not anyone who can put forth a challenge worthy of my perfect being?" Cell said with mockery.

Frieza slowly managed to get back on his feet while his tail was pounding the ground in frustration. He hadn't felt this much pain in a long time yet Frieza began to laugh.

"All this power, and you _still_ couldn't kill them," Frieza taunted with a smirk.

Cell grunted. "At least I still managed to kill Goku, a feeling you will never know," he teased.

"You think self-destruction an honorable feat?" Frieza challenged.

Cell shook his head. "Doesn't matter in the end."

"Yes it does," Frieza said with distaste. "Who is going to be the one to destroy them now? They don't deserve life."

Cell Smirked. "Now, now Frieza, you know Goku will eventually come back down here just like he once did and I want to be ready for that."

"Ah yes, Goku. The despicable monkey," Frieza sneered with a scowl. "You may want Goku, but I want the whole bunch. I want to see Vegeta die a slow painful death. I want to slaughter his entire family, the Namek, and all the Earthlings. I want Goku to witness the death of his family and friends knowing there is no way to stop me!"

"Well, we can't make that happen, but we can be prepared for Goku," Cell reasoned.

"If he ever comes down," Frieza added and groaned.

"Enough of this. Power up to your max. I need at least somebody who can keep up with me," Cell held out his arms taunting his companion.

"Gladly," Frieza said with confidence.

Frieza began to power up to his max. He screamed while releasing the most powerful energy he could find within him. Cell, standing a little ways back, watched him, confident that no matter how much power Frieza produced, he would be no match for his perfect being. For Cell, it was still refreshing to see his power.

"Maybe I will get a work out after all," Cell mentioned as he felt Frieza's power continue to increase.

Cell also began to power up as his stolen powers allowed him to transform into a super Saiyan. He could feel the power from the z-senshi and all the others he has incorporating into his perfect being. He began to release his ki deep from within. The two warriors powering up at the same time and begun to shake the depths of hell. By now, it was a competition. Who could gather the most energy to win this duel?

As the two continued to release tremendous amounts of energy, a brilliant light suddenly began to emit between the two warriors. Curious, the two immediately stopped powering up.

"What is it?" Cell yelled as the light became brighter.

"I can't see!" Frieza shrieked.

Within a few seconds, the extreme light subsided, and between Frieza and Cell, a bizarre spherical hole appeared. It was blurred out, yet there was an intense light emitting from it.

"Where did that come from?" Frieza asked.

"I don't know. Have you ever seen a thing like this?" Cell inquired.

The two stared for a minute at the bizarre spherical hole that appeared as neither Cell nor Frieza said a thing. They were both shocked at this weird spheroid of light in the dark depths of hell. Frieza eventually took a step back, and his body shook.

"I- I have heard stories," Frieza mustered out.

"You know what this is?" Cell asked surprised by Frieza's reaction.

"I think I actually might," said Frieza.

"Well get on with it, what is it?" Cell demanded.

"I have heard stories from several different species that such a wormhole could be created by attuning the exact frequency required," Frieza explained. "Our powering up must have created this. If I am correct, this space-time hole connects two dimensions, or at least that's what the scientists said."

"No such thing exists," Cell said with certainty.

"Well, I think this is it," Frieza said curiously looking at the ball of light. "This is like a tunnel from one dimension to the next."

The spheroid began to contract.

"What happens if you go in it?" Cell inquired taking a step toward it.

"Who would have ever thought those idiotic scientists back on our ship were actually right for once?" Frieza wondered ignoring Cell's question.

"Where does it go?" Cell asked.

"Who knows…"

"Well, let's go already!" Cell demanded as he neared the slowly contracting wormhole.

"Wait! Don't get too close," Frieza said with uncertainty.

Cell laughed. "We finally get the opportunity to leave this wretched place, and you don't want to go?"

"We don't know what is on the other side. It could be anything," Frieza explained as the spheroid contracted even smaller.

"Well, I'm going," Cell said as he took one step closer.

"It could be one of many different dimensions. It might be worse than hell!" Frieza warned.

"No matter, I'm going, before it shuts," Cell said as he neared the spheroid.

Cell saw the wormhole contracting. He took a closer look, but all he saw was a blur coming from it.

"If you end up in space, you won't be able to breathe," Frieza continued to warn.

Cell turned around, "You idiot. I have _your_ cells in my body. Did you forget?"

"Fool!" Frieza yelled.

"See ya," Cell said with a smirked and dove into the contracting wormhole. As soon as he jumped into it, the wormhole contracted to nothing. Frieza landed on his knees shocked that he may never know the fate of his companion.

A complete blur. That was what described the wormhole tunnel. Cell couldn't even comprehend it as time didn't seem to exist in the space-time continuum. It didn't make any sense, but within a few seconds, Cell felt that he had fallen onto some sort of ground yet the blur remained. A few seconds later, his vision slowly began to sharpen, and he realized he was on a rocky dirt surface. It was as if he was in a daze.

"Where am I?" Cell audibly asked not comprehending what had just happened.

As his vision slowly came into focus, he realized he was on some sort of planet, but he didn't know where. He looked up and saw the painful light coming from the glaring sun. His senses were overloaded from the space-time tunnel he just traversed. He slowly got back up on his feet and dusted himself off.

As the blur came into focus, he looked around and saw a quaint place. He saw a blue sky and clouds. After a sigh of relief from finally leaving hell, suddenly Cell became very alert. He quickly suppressed his power level unsure of his surroundings. He suddenly realized that he had been here before as if it was like a déjà vu.

In the distance were large rocky hills. It appeared that the ground had been disrupted in the immediate area some time ago. Cell stood there in shock at what he was witnessing. He wanted to pinch himself to see if he was dreaming.

"There is no way," Cell said to himself leaving his mouth gaping.

All the memories flooded back prior his death. He was at the location of the Cell Games where he perished against a half-breed Saiyan. Something was different, though. Grass had been growing in the immediate area, and there were even a few younger trees that weren't there before. Cell realized that the games took place in this dimension, but he wasn't sure how long ago it was.

"How much time has passed?" Cell asked himself.

He didn't even know if this was the same timeline. This could have easily been a different timeline than he was from. Thankfully, he had some experience with different timelines and dimensions thanks to his time spent in hell and his travels in Trunks' time machine. He knew things could be very different here than the dimension he fell to the half-Saiyan.

He tried to sense out any strong fighters on the planet; however, he couldn't sense anyone. He was aware that any of his enemies could easily be suppressing their power levels if they existed in this timeline. He did, however, feel mass amounts of weak power levels on this planet. He deduced that it was likely humans. He knew that the year he created the Cell Games was 767 so he roughly guessed 6 or 7 earth years had passed in the time he spent in hell. He wondered if the time-space continuum was at the same scale in both the afterworld dimension and this one.

He looked above himself. No halo. Cell had a questionable look on his face. Did this mean he was alive? Did the wormhole possibly reverse death? He had far too many questions to even think about confronting his enemies. First, he needed to find out some facts.

He decided against flying due to his enemies being able to sense his ki. He ran at a fast speed, releasing plenty of ki in the process, but not too much so he could avoid detection. He traversed the plains where the Cell Games took place, but he knew a city was not too far away.

Eventually, he made it to a road. First, an important task was to figure out which year it was. He looked down both directions the road traveled in and pondered how he would do this. If this timeline knew he once existed, he would cause too much commotion, and if the z-senshi found out, they would quickly find him. His thinking, however, came to an abrupt stop.

A car in the distance drove toward him. As the vehicle approached him, it slowed, and he got weird stares from the people inside the car. He saw the window roll down.

"How dare you dress up in that costume? Do they think it's okay for people to even make a Cell costume? Where are people's manners?" the driver yelled out of the window.

Cell stared into the window and now knew he once existed in this timeline. There was a family of four. He suspected the father was the one yelling at him, and the mother was in the front passenger seat, while there were a teenager and a younger child in the back.

"Are you even listening to me?" the father demanded.

Smirking, Cell realized he could use this to his advantage. Thankfully, Dr. Gero gave him some skills he was unable to test in his past life.

"You should really not bring light to that horrible event. Thank God for the champ," the father continued but was interrupted by Cell.

"Actually, I was wondering, would you please tell me what year it is?" Cell inquired with a smirk.

The father had a quizzical look on his face. "What year-" the father attempted to say but was cut off by Cell's fist penetrating the window and his hand wrapping around the father's throat.

The wife and kids screamed. Cell tightened his grip while the wife immediately took out his phone scrambling to dial for help.

"Ah, ah, ah… we can't have that," Cell said as his smirked continued. He saw the look of fear on the family's faces. _Ahh, how I miss this_ , he thought.

Cell immediately punched the woman, knocking her out cold. The two children unlocked their doors and attempted to flee on foot. Cell quickly let go of the father's neck and went after the children. First, he gathered a little bit of ki in his hands and released it in the form of a blast toward the younger child. The child immediately fell to the ground. Cell made a mental note of the teenager's ki as he momentarily escaped. He could only use a tiny fraction of his energy so the warriors on this planet didn't detect him.

He realized the husband was still alive but noted the wife took a hit to the head and was immediately dead. The younger child was dead due to the blast. He turned his head back to the car, knowing he could easily find the teenager later.

"Y- you mon- monster," the man stuttered gasping for air.

"You are still alive? We can't have that now, can we," Cell said with a smirk.

"Y- You're him," the man said. He was horrified.

"Yes, I am back, and today is your unlucky day," Cell mused.

"P- Please don't kill me," the man stuttered as blood flowed down his face and neck.

"I'm so, so sorry, but we can't have you running around telling people I'm alive and well, now can we?" Cell said wagging his finger.

The man was too weak to say anything else after suffering the injuries to the neck. Cell opened the door and punched his head quite hard. It was hard enough for him to suffer a brain injury, which resulted in his death.

"Ah, now where were we?" Cell said as he looked behind him. The teenager was weak, but he could sense him out some distance away.

Cell ran off the road up a small hill where the teenager had attempted to escape. Within a few minutes, he slowly approached the hiding teenager like stalking his prey. The teenager, a boy, was no older than 17 and was of average height, with darker hair, and lighter skin. _This will do just fine_ , Cell thought.

The teenaged boy heard a twig snap, and he immediately looked behind frightened. Cell smirked as the boy had no idea where he was. Cell was enjoying this all too much.

"Boo."

The teenager yelled and tried to run, but Cell immediately kicked him to the ground. The boy tried to scramble and crawl away; however, Cell stomped on his foot rendering his escape useless. The teenager yelled out in pain.

"Please don't kill me!" the boy pleaded.

"Tell me what year it is boy," Cell demanded.

"I- It's year 773! Please, please let me go," the boy pleaded.

"Thank you for that," Cell said with a smirk. So, it's been six years.

"Please, please don't kill me, I beg of you," the boy pleaded.

Cell's smirked deeped. This was just too perfect. Now, he only had to find out if his enemies were in this timeline. _Surely, they must exist,_ Cell deduced.

"Because you have been so cooperative, I won't kill you," Cell explained. The boy was still scared for his life as Cell's words meant nothing to him.

"I won't kill you, I'm just going to use your body as a placeholder for mine. Are you ready?" Cell asked as he ejected out his tail from his perfect form. The tail had a spear like structure at the end. This was used to either suck the energy out of enemies or ingeniously, he could put his body inside of the host. This is a similar technique used by the Namekian race.

"Please no!" the boy screamed.

Cell's tail penetrated the boy's stomach and Cell began the transformation from body to body. Within a few seconds, the skin of his old body was all that remained. The new teenaged version of Cell was alive, and he looked at his new body feeling victorious. It was the perfect disguise. Not only did his physical appearance change, but his ki signature had also changed. It was still similar to his original ki signature; however, it did take on the host of the body too. It was a fusion between the two. _Hopefully, there is enough of a difference for anybody to notice_ , Cell thought.

Cell was zealous. Now he was to hatch the perfect plan to get revenge. _Now that I have a disguise, I am coming for you Son Gohan!_

Cell left the area where he just made the transformation and made his way back to the highway. Cell smirked at his achievement. _Now, I will finally fulfill my destiny._

* * *

Several days later, it was a bright and early morning. The birds were chirping, the dew was dripping off the trees and plants, and the sky was clearing from the rains the night before.

"Wakey wakey!" a seven-year-old boy said with excitement jumping on Gohan's stomach.

"Settle down there squirt! I'm tired!" Gohan explained and felt groggy.

"Mom told me that you need to get ready for school," Goten chirped. Gohan picked up his younger brother and set him back down on the floor.

"Yeah, I know," Gohan said a little grumpily as he rubbed his stomach. "This is just the third day Goten. You can't do this to me every day. Big brother can't take it much more."

"Well, mom says breakfast is ready," Goten explained hopping toward the kitchen.

"Breakfast?" Gohan cheered up immediately. "Well, why didn't you say so squirt?"

Gohan immediately got up, took a quick shower, brushed his teeth, and attempted to comb his wild hair.

"Is breakfast ready?" Gohan said eagerly to eat as he came into the kitchen area sitting down at the table.

"Gohan, are you ready for your third day?" Chi Chi asked. Her eldest son immediately began eating breakfast. Gohan's mother was happy because her son was finally getting the education he needed to be successful in life. Maybe at the same time, find a girl to spend his life with.

"Yeah," Gohan said with his mouth full.

"I hope you are restraining from eating like that in school," his mother scolded him. Gohan looked up at his mom and smiled.

"Of course!"

After eating a quick but substantial breakfast, Gohan gathered his schoolbooks and loaded them into his bag.

"Can I come to school with you big brother?" Goten asked with a puppy dog face.

"Hey there, I'll be back soon, and we can do some more training, sound good?" Gohan assured.

"Yeah, but I wanna see what your school is like," Goten requested.

"Not today, but maybe sometime," Gohan said rustling his brother's hair.

"Okay!" Goten chirped.

Gohan opened the front door. "Bye mom! Bye Goten!"

"Bye Gohan!"

"Bye brother!"

Gohan shut the door behind him, lifted himself off the ground into the air, and began flying toward Satan City. The cool crisp breeze was refreshing and helped him wake up. He looked at his newly acquired watch from Bulma, which housed the unique mechanism that transformed him into his alter ego, Saiyaman. He clicked the tiny button on the side and immediately, he was immersed in his Saiyaman outfit. He read the time, 7:15 AM. _Looks like I might be early for once._

As Gohan approached Satan City, he kept an eye out for potential criminals. He had made his first appearance yesterday as Saiyaman stopping an armed robbery after school. Gohan was eager to show himself to the public to distract from the Golden Fighter; a name the public had given him after he helped stop some bad guys on the first day of school.

With no crime this morning, he landed in a park, away from any activity. He took a look around to make sure nobody was in the immediate area. He also double-checked using his ki sensing capabilities. Nothing.

He pressed the small button on the side of his watch, and immediately transformed back into his normal clothes and then took a deep breath. It was nerve-racking that somebody could potentially see him transform, busting his cover. He decided to take it one day at a time. Perhaps he would have to change further out of the city to make sure.

Gohan walked through the park to the main road, and then he walked a few minutes down the road and arrived at Orange Start High, the school his mother had sent him. He was enjoying school, but fitting in with normal humans was difficult for the half-breed Saiyan.

"Gohan!"

Gohan turned around and noticed his newly acquired friends approaching him.

"Hi Sharpner. Hi Erasa."

"You are here early huh?" Sharpner mentioned.

"Yeah, unlike yesterday," Gohan and Erasa chuckled.

"Well, did you hear the news?" Sharpner asked. Gohan had a questionable look.

"We are getting a new student today!" Erasa said excitedly.

Gohan was surprised. "What? Really?"

"Yeah, guess you won't be the newest one now," Sharpner added.

"That's interesting. Wonder what he or she is like," Gohan mentioned tilting his head toward one side.

"They say he is really really hot!" Erasa squealed.

"Erasa? Please. It's going to be hard to beat these looks," Sharpner beamed with pride.

Erasa laughed, "Oh come on Sharpie."

"What? It's true!" Sharpner defended.

"Whatever," Erasa added. The three continued to walk into the school building.

"Hey."

The three turned around and saw Videl staring at them from the door.

"Oh, hi Videl," Gohan greeted.

Videl made Gohan uneasy. She seemed to be bent on learning his secrets. It was difficult to function around her because she was so suspicious of him.

"Videl! Did you hear?" Erasa asked.

"Yeah... we have a new student," Videl said nonchalantly.

"Yeah, isn't that exciting? Two new students in one week!" Erasa said referring to Gohan.

"No, not really," Videl added with a scowl.

"Why not?" Sharpner inquired.

"Because he will be all excited about being in the same class as the daughter of the man who defeated Cell," Videl sarcastically explained.

"Oh, give the new kid a chance first," Erasa advised as she put her hands on her hips. "At least treat him a little better than Gohan here."

"I treat Gohan just fine," Videl defended as Gohan nervously laughed.

It was already challenging enough that Gohan was friends with Videl, daughter of Hercule Satan. He didn't know what his family would think of that. _I will always give anyone a chance_ , Gohan thought.

"We better get to class," Gohan mentioned.

"Why are you always so excited to sit there bored out of our minds nerd boy?" Sharpner asked.

"Sharpner! Don't call Gohan that!" Erasa scolded.

"I kid, I kid, but no offense Gohan, you are the definition of nerdy," Sharpner added.

"None taken," Gohan said with a smile. Erasa frowned.

"How are you okay with that? Don't you get mad at people labeling you a nerd?" Erasa asked.

"Not really, it simply just doesn't bother me that much," Gohan explained.

"Well, I guess you are right but we really should go to class now," Erasa explained.

The four teenagers made their way down the hallway into their homeroom. It was the same room they spent the entire school year in beside breaks and lunch. The different teachers would rotate through the room leaving the students there.

The four got in their places and sat down. There was chatter about the new kid who was supposed to show up today. Everybody was wondering what he would be like. The bell soon rang, and the teacher walked in.

"Settle down students, settle down," Mr. R explained. The students stopped chattering about the new student to await what the confirmation of the new student.

"As you may have heard, we have a new student arriving today," Mr. R explained. "Why don't you come in son?"

The door opened revealing a teenager with darker hair, lighter skin, and about average height. His build was a bit more than other boys his age. One could tell he'd been working out. He was wearing jeans and a nice white shirt.

"Why don't you introduce yourself son?" Mr. R asked.

"Hi, my name is Mitochondria, but I am just Mito for short," the teenager said. There were murmurs throughout the classroom wondering why someone would have such a bizarre name.

"Where are you from?" Mr. R asked

"I am from East City," the boy replied.

"Very good. You may take a seat," Mr. R explained.

Mito eyed the students. He peered up toward the top and saw Son Gohan. His anger began to rise inside him because he desired revenge. _I, the perfect warrior, Cell, will not allow him to get away with this treachery. I will one day take my revenge._ Cell smirked, taking the earth name, Mito.

Videl eyed the young man. Mitochondria? _That's a weird name_ , she thought.

"Yoo hooo! Up here!" Erasa said in her typical bubbly fashion.

"Why'd you have to do that," Videl hissed at her best friend.

"Cuz, nobody else was saying anything," Erasa replied. Sharpner rolled his eyes.

The new student, Mito, walked up the steps to the row that Erasa, Videl, Sharpner, and Gohan sat in.

"You can sit here!" Erasa said pointing to the end seat on the row. Next over were Erasa, then Videl, Sharpner and finally Gohan.

"My name is Erasa!" Erasa said shaking hands with the new kid. "And here is Videl, Sharpner, and Gohan."

Mito eyed all of them and finally saw Gohan. He stopped for a brief second and his eye twitched.

"Thank you and nice to meet you," Mito forcibly said sitting down at the end of the row next to Erasa.

"Umm, Mitochondria, were your parent's biologists, or something?" Erasa asked.

Mito smirked, "You could say that. Just call me Mito, it's easier."

"So Mito, what made you choose Orange Star High?" Erasa asked.

"Both my parents are gone, and I wanted to go to school. This school has the best rankings in the area by far," Mito explained.

"Yeah, that's thanks to Videl's dad!" Erasa said pointing to her friend. Videl facepalmed herself knowing exactly what was coming next.

"Does your father give the school a lot of money or something?" Mito questioned Videl.

"You could say that," Videl said rolling her eyes.

"Videl here is famous. Her father is the world famous Hercule Satan!" Erasa explained.

"Hercule Satan? Who's that?" Mito asked raising an eyebrow.

"What!?" Sharpner yelped as his eyes widened.

"You four up there! Please wait until after class to get to know each other," Mr. R scolded.

The four immediately stopped talking. Videl looked at Mito completely surprised. That's twice this week! _How is it that both the new students have no idea who I am, or my father?_

Sharpner and Erasa slowly looked back down at their notes attempting to get over their shock. Gohan, on the other hand, was also surprised. Gohan knew of Mr. Satan and his accomplishment, but it took him a while to realize it when confronted with it on his first day. He looked back down at his notes while Mr. R lectured. He tried took his mind off that incident and began focusing on the lecture. However, several minutes into class, Gohan continued to feel eyes on him.

Gohan knew it was the new student but didn't want to look back and cause a commotion realizing it wasn't worth it. After another bit of time, Erasa got bored again.

"So Mito, now do you remember who Mr. Satan is?" Erasa asked.

"Not a clue," was all he said.

"Erasa! Would you like to tell us what is so important?" Mr. R asked.

"No sorry sir. I promise it won't happen again," Erasa said ducking her head.

Videl was still trying to understand how this was possible. She spent the rest of the class period trying to figure out how on earth it was conceivable for someone not to know who her father was. Even in the most remote parts of earth, people had to have heard of her father's accomplishment. That was the most historic day in Earth's history we were talking about. What was more bizarre was that this was the second time this week that this happened which led to the question, is there some association between Gohan and Mito?

"Make sure you do your homework students," Mr. R explained as the class period ended.

Now they had 10 minutes before the next class.

"Man, I'm hungry," Gohan explained as some of the students filtered out.

"You're always hungry silly," Erasa said grinning.

Gohan could still feel eyes on him. He knew it was Mito. But this time he looked back. Mito looked away immediately, and Gohan shrugged it off.

"So Mito, you still have no idea who my father is at all," Videl asked once more.

"No for the third time. Why would I know who your father is?" Mito said with annoyance.

Videl slipped him a confused look. "Well, you should!"

"His father is none other than the man who defeated Cell," Sharpner casually said. Mito immediately tensed up at the mention of his name.

"W- What did you say?" Mito asked while his eyes narrowed.

"Hercule Satan was the one that defeated Cell. How are you now just hearing about this?" Erasa asked blinking her eyes.

Mito opened his mouth in shock, realizing who Hercule Satan was. He let out a few puffs of air and began laughing.

"What's so funny!?" Videl asked quite irritated.

"That! Hercule Satan defeating Cell. Now I remember," Mito explained. He remembered that Hercule Satan was that extremely loudmouthed weak human fighter that arrived to attempt to defeat him. He remembered all his absurd moves that he thought made him strong.

"Well, you should show some more respect," Videl explained crossing her arms.

Mito immediately came back to reality. He was trying to fit in and needed to make a concerted effort to not blow his cover as he learned more about Gohan.

"Yeah sorry about that," Mito said still chuckling a little.

Gohan looked on surprised at the whole situation. This was the first person that didn't worship his friend Videl's, father. _Weird_ , Gohan thought as he tried to figure out what Mito was thinking. Why was he laughing? Does he know that Hercule didn't defeat Cell? _I doubt that._

"Is there something on my face?" Mito asked Gohan as he was staring at him.

"What? No, I am just surprised, that's all," Gohan explained.

"Surprised about what?" Mito asked sarcastically.

"Nothing, really!" Gohan insisted.

Mito grunted. "You are Son Gohan, are you not?"

"Yeah, how did you know my last name?"

"Pathetic," he said under his breath.

"What?" Gohan asked blinking his eyes.

Mito cleared his thoughts and gave a blank facial expression. _I forgot Saiyans have a heightened sense of hearing. I have to watch it,_ he thought _._

"Nothing," Mito said, getting up from his seat walking back downstairs to the classroom door.

"Uhh, did you do something to him Gohan?" Sharpner asked.

"No, I have never seen him in my life," Gohan explained frowning.

"He seemed extra pissy toward you," Sharpner added.

"Yeah, I think he even said I was pathetic under his breath," Gohan mentioned.

"What? How could you have possibly heard that!? You are sitting way down there," Sharpner said raising an eyebrow.

"Oh. Umm, I just thought I heard that," Gohan stuttered.

 _Weird, I didn't hear anything_ , Videl thought.

For the rest of the morning, there was little interaction with Mito. He mostly stayed to himself, but Erasa decided to make a considerable effort to get to know the new student.

"Gohan, you are eating lunch with us, right?" Erasa asked.

"Sure and thank you for inviting me," Gohan replied with a smile.

"Mito? Would you like to join us for lunch?" Erasa asked as the students packed up their bags to enjoy their break.

Mito didn't respond. Instead, he was wondering what he had gotten himself into. _I need to keep my goal clear in mind. I am here to learn and uncover the secret behind Gohan's power. I need to understand how he was able to beat a perfect being like myself. I have to make sure I don't get caught up in this absurdity they call high school. And when the time is right, I'll make my move_ , Mito smirked.

"Hello? Earth to Mito?" Erasa said waving her arm in front of him.

"What do you want," Mito sneered. Erasa along with Sharpner, Videl, and Gohan were taken aback.

"We were just going to invite you to lunch, but no worries, maybe another time?" Erasa said.

Mito sighed. _I need to learn to be patient with these pathetic earthlings. I need to understand these stupid social practices if I want to learn about Gohan. Curse these pathetic humans,_ Mito thought.

"I'm sorry. I am just having a hard time adjusting to high school life," Mito said convincingly. "Thank you for the invitation."

"Sooooo, is that a yes?" Erasa questioned.

"Yes."

"Great! Let's go!" Erasa said. Videl followed behind Mito and Gohan and Sharpner followed behind Videl.

Videl stared at the back of Mito. Something didn't sit right with her. _It's like he's hiding something, just like Gohan,_ Videl thought. She didn't trust him and was frustrated that her friend, Erasa, was so inviting into their little circle. The five wandered outside on the field with nearby seating because it was a nice warm fall day.

"Did you bring lunch Mito?" Erasa asked.

"No," was all he replied.

"Oh… Well, you can have some of my food," Erasa suggested.

"I'm not that hungry, thanks though," Mito said trying to be more socially acceptable.

Sharpner turned to Videl. "So, what are you going to do about Saiyaman?"

Videl's facial expression became increasingly annoyed at the mention of his name. "I wish he would find his own city to protect. Out of all the cities on this planet, he chooses mine."

Gohan studied Videl's reply. It was just as he suspected. She didn't like the new superhero.

"Saiyaman?" Mito repeated.

"Yes. He came out of nowhere, and it's infuriating," Videl replied.

"What a lame name," Mito said sarcastically with a smirk.

"Oh, I don't know? It doesn't sound that bad," Gohan replied rubbing the back of his head.

"Mito is right, it's stupid," Videl replied. _Maybe Mito isn't so bad after all._

"R- Right," Gohan said hesitantly.

Mito smiled. _So Gohan is playing superhero. Only an idiot would come up with that dumb of a name,_ he thought. Although learning about Gohan was his primary goal, Mito was curious about how Hercule Satan, the one who was so easily defeated, convinced the entire planet that he killed the perfect being of Cell.

"How did your dad defeat Cell?" Mito forced out. He felt completely embarrassed that the world accepted this. _This is a disgrace. How can people buy such an absurd theory? People don't even believe I had an honorable death against a powerful warrior. They believe this clown defeated me. Disgusting!_

"He doesn't tell me the specifics about the battle but said it was a huge challenge," Videl explained surprised Mito took an interest.

"So you don't actually know? How can you be so sure that he was the one to defeat the all mighty Cell?" Mito asked while Videl frowned.

"Well for starters, he is the world champion, so that speaks numbers. Plus my father doesn't lie. It's not in his nature," Videl explained.

"Right," Mito said sarcastically.

 _Maybe I thought too soon. It sounds like he is an asshole_ , Videl thought.

Gohan was keenly listening to their conversation. He didn't know what to make it. What is with all the interest in Cell all of a sudden? The thought of Cell brought back painful memories for him.

"That sounded like you don't believe my father defeated Cell?" Videl inquired.

"It's because I don't," Mito smirked.

"WHAT was that?" Videl challenged.

"Whoa! Settle down guys! We can all have our opinions," Gohan interjected.

"How can you just sit there and take this Gohan? It's a disgrace!" Mito argued surprising the half-Saiyan.

Gohan stared at Mito questionably. "W- What?"

 _Damn. I need to watch what I say_. Mito backed off on the topic. He was here for a purpose. _I need to focus and learn about Gohan, but how do I do that? I cannot wait for the day I get my revenge, and it will be glorious, but I need to be prepared. Fate has given me one more hand to be dealt._

"You should really learn some respect. My father did this world a great service," Videl defended. Mito sighed in defeat.

"My apologies," Mito forced out.

Videl still frowned at him not sounding convinced. _Yeah right_ , Videl thought but remembered Mito mentioning Gohan. _What on earth was that about with Gohan though?_

Gohan was still wondering what was going on. It was as if Mito knew that he had defeated Cell, but according to Gohan, that would make no sense whatsoever. _Something is weird about this guy. Or maybe I am just overthinking it? There_ _have_ _to be some people that don't believe Mr. Satan beat Cell in this world_ , Gohan concluded.

Ultimately, Videl was very suspicious of the new student, Mito. She was even suspicious of Gohan, but Mito required more attention for the time being. Videl could tell Gohan was a sweet defenseless young man that will cause no harm but lies constantly, however, Mito appeared to be standoffish and arrogant. _Perhaps it's just because he is in a new school, but he really should learn some respect!_

 **A/N** : Hello fellow readers! Thanks for taking the time to read my first chapter. Yes, I know, Mito? Couldn't I come up with a better name? Well… not really. Mito = mitochondria… Mito for short… Anyways, I am going to be very slow at updating, so I apologize in advance. I am working on my master's thesis right now sooooo…. Yeah. As for my other Gohan Videl romance, I will complete it, I promise. I just had to get my thoughts down on paper for this next fic. Anyways, hope you like. Please review and thank you!


	2. Something Is Not Right

A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews. Note at bottom for reviewers.

Chapter 2: Something Is Not Right

Gohan enjoyed the past few weeks of school as he had made a few new friends, Videl, Erasa, and Sharpner. There was also another new student that enrolled just a few days after he had. The new student, Mito, seemed a little peculiar to Gohan and Videl had also picked up on it. Mito's odd behavior took the burden of Videl's suspicion of Gohan off of him, which caused Gohan to relax a bit.

Chi Chi was preparing dinner and looked over to her son who was working on homework at the kitchen table. "Sweetie, why don't you ever tell me about your new friends at school?"

"Well, there's Videl, Erasa, and Sharpner," Gohan explained, eagerly awaiting his dinner.

"Videl and Erasa, huh?" Chi Chi mentioned.

"Erasa is really friendly, but I'm not sure Videl likes me," Gohan added and shrugged.

"Would Erasa or Videl happen to be a girlfriend of yours?" Chi Chi suggested as Gohan's eyes enlarged at that proposition.

"Mom!" Gohan whined.

"Now now son, you know you have to be really nice to these girls if you ever want to get a girlfriend," Chi Chi explained.

"Mom! Like I said, Videl might not like me even as a friend, and Erasa, I don't know! Just stop mom, please," Gohan said while his face turned red.

"Alright Gohan, but you know, you really should be nice, even to that Videl girl," Chi Chi explained.

"I get it," Gohan said trying to end the conversation.

Trying to ignore what his mother said, Gohan got back to his work, but dinner was on his mind. But before he could answer the next problem on his homework, he sensed a strong power level headed toward him. Gohan's eyes shot straight up. _Piccolo_ , he thought. _Why would he come here? He never comes to my house anymore._

"Umm, I think I am going to get some fresh air for a bit, then come back to do my homework," said Gohan.

Chi Chi turned to her son, "Alright Gohan, but make sure you finish it before dinner."

Gohan abruptly got up from his chair, walked to the front door, opened it, and walked outside. He used his sensing ability again and felt his former teacher very close by but stationary. _I hope nothing is wrong_ , he thought as he lifted himself off the ground and flew in the direction of Piccolo.

After a very short trip, he landed where Piccolo was standing. Gohan looked up to his mentor. He hadn't seen him in quite some time and felt bad that he didn't get up to the lookout as frequently as he once did. Piccolo locked eyes with the Saiyan teenager.

"Gohan," Piccolo said in his gruff voice.

"Is everything okay?" Gohan asked concerned.

Piccolo eyed his former pupil. "Yes."

Gohan raised an eyebrow. "Then, why did you come by? Not that I don't want you to drop by, but you seem sort of serious."

"Well, I came to tell you something," Piccolo explained.

"What? What is it?" asked Gohan lifting his eyebrow.

"I don't want you to be concerned, but I had a vision a few days ago, a dark vision," Piccolo warned yet Gohan was as confused as ever.

"A dark vision?" Gohan repeated while blinking his eyes.

"Yes. I haven't had a vision like this one since before Cell," Piccolo added narrowing his eyes.

"What does it mean?" Gohan asked in a more serious tone.

"I'm not sure, but immediately after the vision, I took a detailed look at our planet," Piccolo continued.

"I'm confused. What do you mean?" asked Gohan.

"I carefully and deeply sensed all parts of the planet for anything out of the ordinary, and I did find something," Piccolo mentioned as Gohan took a step back.

"What, really?"

"Yes."

Piccolo turned around looking up at the sky and took a deep breath. Gohan sat down on the grass not sure what to make of this news. Was something bad about to happen? Were these peaceful times about to end? Or was his former master wrong in his vision?

"What have you sensed?" asked Gohan.

"Well, it's obscure and clouded, but I have felt minor pulses of a dark power, but for some reason, there's some familiarity with it," said Piccolo.

Gohan was now trying to decipher what his master was saying. Was this power someone that he knew? Gohan knew he had completed very little training since Cell and suspected his power level had actually even decreased over time. This ominous news made Gohan want to train to get back up to speed just in case.

"It's all so clouded," mentioned Piccolo shaking his head frustrated by his vision.

"What should we do?" asked Gohan.

"Absolutely nothing. There is nothing we can do."

Gohan pounded the soil. "Dang, I wish I had trained more."

Piccolo raised an eyebrow. "Well, I am telling you this so you can keep your eye out for anything out of the ordinary. I don't want you to be concerned, but we need to be on guard. Also, don't tell anyone yet. It could also be nothing, so no need to worry everyone about it."

Gohan looked back up to his former teacher. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. For now, just be more alert than normal. I will also keep an eye out," Piccolo said.

"Okay," Gohan confirmed.

"You know where to find me, kid," Piccolo said as he lifted himself off, then waved, and finally powered up and flew off.

Gohan watched him fly away. He got back to his feet and had a lot on his mind. What did it all mean? His master had always been the serious type, and he never joked around, so he had to take this vision seriously. The only thing he realized from his short conversation with his former teacher was that he needed to train and quickly. He knew he was out of shape, at least compared to what he once was. Gohan shook his head at his lack of training. _I should have continued training like Vegeta_ , he thought.

Gohan walked back toward the house. It was a few minutes, but it allowed him to decompress after hearing the news. How was he supposed to do his homework now with all that was on his mind? He just needed to not worry about it and continue powering through. _Things just got a lot more complicated_ , thought Gohan.

* * *

The next day, Gohan landed in a park nearby the school so nobody would know he could fly. He looked around and begun walking toward the street. The last bit of his daily commute to school he would walk. It helped keep his senses clear.

"Walking to school? I thought you lived really far away from here," a voice said behind him.

Gohan jumped surprised and turned around, "Videl!"

"Walking Gohan?" Videl asked once more raising an eyebrow.

Gohan rubbed the back of his head. "Umm, yeah, I just decapsulate my plane a ways out from school so I could walk the rest."

"Why would you do that?"

"Well, umm, I like getting a little fresh air before school," explained Gohan nervously laughing.

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense. That's what I'm doing now too," Videl said catching up to Gohan. "You mind if I walk with you?"

"Sure," Gohan said with a smile but he was uneasy.

The two continued walking toward school. It was only a five-minute walk from where they were.

"Say Gohan, what do you do when you get home from school? You must not have much time since it must take you a few hours to get to the 439 area," Videl said in an attempt to strike up a conversation.

Gohan chuckled, "Well, I mostly play with my brother or just do my homework."

"You have a brother?" Videl asked blinking her eyes.

"Yep, he's 7," said Gohan. "Do you have any siblings?"

For some reason, Videl was caught off guard from the question. She wasn't sure if Gohan would engage her. Over the past few weeks, Videl had grown an interest in Gohan due to his secrecy. She was suspicious of him and to overcome that suspicion, she would have to get to know him more.

"Umm, no, it's just me and my father," Videl explained.

"Oh," said Gohan.

"Well, I have a question for you Gohan," Videl proposed.

"Umm, yeah?" he responded nervously.

It was already a challenge to talk to Videl because of her association with her father, but also because Gohan was trying to keep his powers hidden through his alter ego, Saiyaman. Videl was not very fond of Saiyaman and the few times she had seen him as Saiyaman, she seemed quite angry. He knew he was bad at lying, so he hoped she was not on to him regarding Saiyaman.

"I don't know exactly what to make of you Gohan," Videl said raising an eyebrow. "First, you didn't know who my father was and when you found out, you didn't seem to care. Most people that want to be my friend do so because of my father."

There wasn't exactly a question that Videl asked, but Gohan knew he needed to respond.

"Well, I don't care about all of that. Your father is your father, and you are you," Gohan explained.

Videl blinked surprised by his response. "But, you don't even seem to care that my father saved the world."

"I _do_ care, but I don't know him. I know you, not him," Gohan explained offering her a smile.

Videl was taken aback by his response. It gave her peace of mind that Gohan wasn't her friend because of her father. Sharpner was now her good friend, but she suspected when they were young, their friendship was because of her father. But Gohan was different, and that made her content; however, it didn't alleviate the suspicions she had about him. Videl had so many questions about Gohan, but she wouldn't ask them, at least not yet.

After arriving at school, the two walked into the classroom together. Erasa saw this and gasped as Videl had a smile on her face and came in together with Gohan.

"Why are you looking at me like that," Videl asked narrowing her eyes as she sat down.

"You and Gohan coming in together like that," Erasa explained smiling.

 _Oh no_ , Videl thought. "Don't you dare."

"But I must," Erasa said with a smirk.

"No. End whatever thoughts you have because they are all wrong," Videl said shaking her head. Erasa then turned to Gohan.

"Gohan, do you care to tell me why you and Videl came in at the same time together?" Erasa asked with a huge smile.

"Umm," was all Gohan could muster.

"Seriously Erasa? Brains and Videl? Come on," Sharpner said rolling his eyes.

"But Videl was smiling," Erasa noted.

"I'M RIGHT HERE!" Videl shouted rolling her eyes.

"Oh silly me," Erasa said sarcastically. "I forgot Videl can't like boys."

Videl sighed. "That's not true. But whatever you are thinking, it's not true."

"Uh huh," was all Erasa said not believing her.

"Ummm, I don't get it," Gohan said scratching his head.

Erasa sighed. "Gohan, you're hopeless."

"What?" Gohan said while tilting his head.

Before Erasa started up on that conversation again, Gohan and Videl tuned out whatever she was about to say because Mito was walking up the stairs the same row they sat in.

"Hi Mito," Erasa greeted.

"Hey," plainly said Mito.

Erasa had made a point to befriend Mito; however, Gohan and Videl were a bit more ambivalent. That being said, Gohan was still very friendly with him; however, Videl was quite suspicious of him.

"How are you doing Mito?" Gohan asked, but he could have sworn he saw Mito's eye twitch.

"Good," said Mito.

 _Great conversation_ , Videl thought as she rolled her eyes. She could tell Gohan was trying to be nice, but Mito was hardly worth her time.

The rest of the day went without issue. It was a boring day with the typical lectures and worksheets. Gohan was thankful the day ended. He was about to grab his belongings, and head out, but Erasa stopped him.

"Gohan!"

"Umm yeah?"

Erasa chuckled. "Want to come get ice cream with us?"

Videl was open to the idea of hanging out with Gohan, especially after their earlier conversation on the way to school.

"Umm, I guess I can, but I shouldn't be out too long," said Gohan slipping her a smile.

"Oh don't be silly, the ice cream parlor is just a five-minute walk from here, plus it would be good for you to see more of Satan City," Erasa explained.

Gohan had already seen the city the few times he had stopped crime in his alter ego, Saiyaman, but he couldn't refuse Erasa's offer. He had to make a point to act normal and blend in with the other kids. Plus, the whole reason he came to Orange Star High was to make friends as the education was far too easy for him.

Erasa then whispered something in Videl's ear, but Gohan couldn't make out what she was saying. Videl rolled her eyes as Erasa finished whispering.

"Mito!" Erasa said excitedly.

"What?" said Mito.

"Say, want to join us?" Erasa suggested.

Mito hesitated but then smirked. This would be a great opportunity for him to fit in more with the end goal of finding more about Gohan.

"Sure," said Mito.

"Great! Let's go!" Erasa said smiling.

Honestly, Videl just wanted to go get ice cream with Erasa, Sharpner, and Gohan, but now that Mito was included, she wasn't as happy. She decided to at least give Mito one more attempt. She could tell that Erasa had a little bit of a crush on the new kid, Mito. _Maybe that will take her mind off trying to get me together with a boy!_ Videl thought.

The five teenagers left the building and followed Erasa. "It's only a five-minute walk away," she said.

"Great, because I need to get back to training after we get ice cream," Sharpner added.

"You train? In what?" said Mito as they were walking.

"Martial Arts of course. I sometimes get to train with Videl's dad, isn't that awesome?" Sharpner said beaming with pride.

"Uhh, not really," Mito added.

Sharpner raised an eyebrow as the group continued to walk. "What do you mean? That's an honor to train with the one that defeated Cell."

 _The nerve_ , Mito thought as he could feel his anger boiling. "No it's not," he said defiantly.

Videl was also curious what Mito meant. She decided to keep quiet and observe while letting Sharpner defend her father for now. This was the second time Mito had seemed to show disrespect toward her father.

"Why the heck not?" Sharpner asked throwing up his arms.

"Because, I hate to be the one to tell you, but he is weak," Mito said while smirking.

Videl was starting to feel the rage inside her become higher. _How dare Mito say that in front of me! I should show him what true power is!_

Sharpner laughed. "So, it looks like you don't know anything because he is the strongest person in the world."

"One hundred percent false," said Mito confidently.

Gohan was intently listening to their conversation. While he agreed with Mito, he wouldn't dare say something like that in front of Videl. He'd put so much effort in fitting in, if he were to jump into the conversation now, things might end badly for him. This was the first person he came across that didn't worship Videl's father. It was peculiar.

Videl, on the other hand, had had it. "Well, then name someone who is stronger," Videl seethed as the group stopped walking.

"I could easily name people, but why should I?" Mito proposed.

"Because I think you don't know what you are talking about," Videl retorted yet Mito continued to smirk.

"I know exactly what I'm talking about. The way he goes on about defeating Cell, that's disgraceful," Mito argued.

Gohan was taken aback. _What is he suggesting?_ Gohan thought.

"You make it sound like my dad didn't defeat Cell," Videl slowly implied.

Mito chuckled. "Yep, that's exactly what I am saying."

"How dare you!" Videl yelled shaking her fist. She was this close to showing him what the Satan style of power really was.

"He was swatted away like a fly, and you have the gall to say he defeated Cell? Please. It's complete humiliation to Cell that a weakling like your father was capable of beating him," Mito said thoroughly enjoying getting a rise out of the Satan girl.

"What was that?" Videl taunted.

Mito was about to taunt further; however, he quickly stopped and realized what he had just said. _What a minute_ , Mito thought. _T_ _he whole point I came was to learn more about Gohan. Why am I wasting my time with t_ _his peon?_

"Forget about what I said, forget all of it," said Mito rolling his eyes.

Videl put her hands on her hip. "Forget it? You insulted my father!" She yelled.

"Umm, maybe you shouldn't have done that Mito," Erasa said trying to calm the situation.

"Gohan?" asked Mito surprising the half-Saiyan.

Gohan looked up abruptly as he was listening, but pretending not to pay attention.

"Don't you have anything to say about this?" Mito pushed. _The fact that I am looking for Gohan to defend me is ridiculous. I should just end all these pathetic human's lives now._

Gohan gulped. Why was Mito bringing him into this conversation? "Umm, not really."

Videl immediately took back control of the conversation. "Of course he doesn't! Unlike you, he actually smart and knows the truth."

Gohan was thoroughly confused. Somehow, in the weirdest of circumstances, Videl had complimented him.

Mito chuckled. "Unlike you, Gohan here knows the _truth_. He's just not man enough to admit it. Forget this. I'm out of here," he said as he ran in the other direction.

"Come back here! We aren't done yet!" Videl yelled back but he was already gone.

"Man that was too weird," Erasa added.

"How dare he say what he said? I should run after him! How could you invite him, Erasa?" Videl raged. Erasa shook her head saddened that Mito made things very difficult for her friends.

"I'm sorry. He is really new here, and he probably is just super confused," Erasa explained.

"Are you really defending him over your best friend?" Videl asked raising an eyebrow.

"Of course not. He is very confused," Erasa explained nodding her head.

"Yeah. I don't like him at all," Videl added.

"Same. He's an ass," Sharpner agreed.

Videl turned her attention back toward someone else she was reluctantly hanging out with. _Oh yeah, what did Mito mean by what he said about Gohan?_ Videl thought.

"Gohan! What did he mean by that?" Videl yelled.

"Uhh, M- Mean by what?" Gohan stuttered.

Videl sighed. "He said that you knew the truth."

Gohan frowned. Honestly, he had no clue what Mito was suggesting. Was it possible that Mito knew that Gohan didn't believe Mr. Satan defeated Cell? Was it possible that Mito knew that HE was the one that defeated Cell? This was all very confusing to the young Saiyan. _Of course, he doesn't know. Nobody knows that unless one of the few that knows told him, but I doubt that. But then what did that all mean?_

"Earth to Gohan!" Videl sarcastically yelled.

"Oh ummm, I really have no idea what he meant," Gohan explained ducking his head.

"Right," Videl said not believing him.

"Let's just go get ice cream and forget about him," Erasa suggested trying to lighten the mood.

After they got ice cream, the four parted ways. Videl still was thinking about what Mito said. She had never met anybody that dissed her father as he had. It was ludicrous that he would say something so outlandish. She was wondering what went on in Mito's head for him to say what he said. It was if Mito knew something she didn't. However, it didn't matter; Videl would take no part in hanging out with Mito again. She gave her effort as Erasa wanted.

Gohan, on the other hand, was concerned that Mito knew something he shouldn't. Over the past few hours, Gohan concluded that either Mito was just a tiny minority of people who didn't believe that Mr. Satan defeated Cell or he actually knew something about the events. It was impossible for him to witness what had happened on that day since the live TV camera broke, so Gohan concluded that whatever he knew was speculative. That gave some closure to Gohan because the last thing he would want is if his secrets were revealed, especially with his budding friendship with Videl Satan and the others.

The next day was a glorious one because it was Friday. Finally, Gohan could go home and begin his training. He had slacked off the past several years, but it was time to start up again. After Piccolo revealed his dark vision, he realized it was time to train, and all he had to do was get by one last day of school.

"Wow Brains, you are here early," Sharpner said sarcastically

Gohan sat down in his seat. Only a few other students were there, but Videl and Sharpner had also arrived early.

"You are usually never here this early," Videl observed.

"Well, I guess I came early for once," Gohan said as he set his things down on the desk.

"Yeah you did," said Erasa grinning.

"I am not looking forward to Mito showing up," Videl groaned.

"Yeah, well, hopefully, he apologizes," Erasa agreed.

"Hopefully," added Gohan.

After several minutes, the other students started filing into the classroom and Mito also was among these students. He sat down and didn't say a word to them. Videl rolled her eyes at the obvious tension that he was creating. She decided that she didn't care enough to ever talk to him again. _His loss_ , she thought.

The next several class periods were uneventful. Mito didn't even acknowledge the four, but Videl really didn't care. Lunch came around, and the students began to pour out the classroom. Mito quickly left the classroom before Erasa, Videl, Sharpner, or Gohan could leave.

"Hey Brains? Want to come eat with us?" Sharpner asked.

"Oh my god, stop calling him that Sharpie!" Erasa said playfully hitting him.

Honestly, Gohan didn't really care about his nickname Sharpner had given him. As long as he was fitting in with the crowd, he was content.

"Sure," said Gohan but Erasa seemed to have other plans.

"Hey guys, I'm going to meet up with you all in a little bit, I have to do something," Erasa said as she quickly grabbed her bag and left the class.

"Umm," Sharpner muttered.

"I wonder what she's got going on?" said Videl.

Gohan, Videl, and Sharpner got their bags and left the classroom to find a place to eat lunch.

Erasa, on the other hand, was chasing down the hallway to catch up to Mito. She quickly rounded the corner she thought she saw Mito turn.

"What?" Mito said as Erasa found him immediately around the corner.

"What do you mean what? You completely ignored us this morning," Erasa scolded.

"Yeah? Your point?" Mito asked.

"Well, I was wondering if you felt bad about what you said to Videl last Friday," Erasa asked fidgeting her foot.

"Pfft, of course not. Why would I feel bad for speaking the truth?" Mito explained.

"The truth?" repeated Erasa as she blinked her eyes.

"Correct. Videl's father was not the one that defeated Cell. This is fact. He is a liar," Mito lashed out.

 _Guess he didn't change. He's so confused_ , Erasa thought. "Okay, but I don't think Videl will like that."

"I don't care. My purpose here is not to deal with that girl. I care about only one goal. Now out of my way," Mito told her off as he continued walking down the hall.

 _Man, what's his problem? I was just asking. Guess we won't be friends. Too bad, because he is kind of cute,_ Erasa thought and giggled. _Why do all the bad boys have to be the cute ones?_

A few hours later, school had ended, and it was finally time to go home for the weekend. Gohan was excited because the first thing he would do when he got home was training. Videl was also excited because it would give her a break from school. This week had been weird as Saiyaman was coming to the rescue where she could not. Also, the new kid at school, Mito, was really getting on her nerves. Another change was that Gohan was being included in their friend group. She wasn't sure about him but had a much more positive view of him compared to Mito.

"See you guys!" Erasa and Sharpner both said as they walked in one direction away from school.

"Bye!" said Gohan waving.

"Erasa, make sure you pick up your phone this weekend! I got something I want to talk to you about," Videl explained.

"Umm, okay, just call me whenever! You know I always want to talk!" Erasa said.

Gohan began walking toward the same park he had been landing every morning this week. Videl followed him.

"So where are you headed?" Gohan asked sensing Videl catching up to him.

"Well, I am going to the park I sometimes take off from. It gives me a second to clear my mind after a long day," Videl explained.

 _Huh? Is she thinking about the same park as I go to?_ Gohan thought. "Oh, me too, I take off and land at a park."

"Really? It would seem like you are just following me," Videl suggested.

Gohan's eyes enlarged. "What? No, of course not!" He defended.

 _Hmm, then why would he go to the same park as me?_ Videl wondered.

 _What do I do now?_ Gohan thought and grimaced, _I don't have my capsule plane today. If she finds that out, I won't have an excuse._

"Well, seeing that we are probably going to the same park as it's the only one in the area, can you tell me your opinion is of Mito?" Videl asked.

Gohan had a questionable look on his face. "Well, he certainly doesn't seem nice."

Honestly, Gohan thought something much different. _What is he hiding? Why does he think Mr. Satan didn't kill Cell?_

"It makes me furious that he doesn't believe that my dad defeated Cell," Videl explained.

Gohan nodded his head. "Well, put yourself in his shoes."

"What? How can I do that?" Videl wondered.

"Easy. He probably likes to see proof, and we all know your dad is strong, but there is no video of Cell being defeated. All he has to go by is your father's word," Gohan cautiously explained.

"What? You too?" Videl said in shock wondering if Gohan didn't trust her father.

"No, no, no. I'm just trying to put myself in his shoes. I mean, it kind of makes sense," Gohan explained rubbing the back of his head.

"Not really," said Videl.

"Yeah, well, I tried," Gohan said.

"Yeah, whatever. My dad is the most powerful person alive, so I think that's proof enough," Videl explained.

"Right. But what about yourself? You are also very strong. Do you think you could beat Cell?" Gohan proposed.

"Well, I don't know. Maybe if he didn't use tricks?" said Videl.

Gohan wanted to talk about something else as all this Cell stuff was making him a bit on edge. It was strange enough he was befriending the daughter of the man who stole his credit, but he made peace with that a long time ago. He didn't care about the credit. He was just thankful Cell was dead, never to return again.

"All I am saying is that I don't like the guy," said Videl.

"I'm not crazy about him either," Gohan agreed nodding his head. "But everybody deserves a second chance. He is probably trying to take it all in, being a new student and all."

Videl frowned. "I tried giving him a second chance."

"Yeah, well I always give people even more second chances. My dad always gave people second chances, even people that hated him," Gohan explained.

"Hmm, I guess you are sort of right. By the way, why don't you ever talk about your parents?" Videl asked.

Gohan looked down. "Well, my mom, my brother, and I live by ourselves in a small house in the mountains. My dad would live with us, but he's not with us anymore."

Videl put her palms on her mouth and was taken aback as she wasn't expecting that answer. "I'm sorry Gohan, I had no idea."

"It's okay, it happened a long time ago," said Gohan offering her a smile.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Videl proposed.

"No, I'm good. He sort of died because of me, so I would rather not," Gohan explained.

 _No way. How could Gohan think that? Gohan's is too nice for something like that to happen_ , Videl thought. She realized she had to quickly change the conversation.

"So any plans this weekend?" Videl asked as the two continued to walk in the direction of the park.

 _Training_ , Gohan thought, but he couldn't tell her that. "Not a whole lot, you?"

"Training," said Videl.

"All weekend? You must be dedicated," Gohan complimented.

"Well, being the daughter of the man who defeated Cell, I have to train very hard to measure up," explained Videl.

"Right," Gohan concurred.

The two had reached the park. Videl threw a capsule on the grass then a copter appeared, and she jumped inside.

"What about you?" Videl said before shutting the door of her copter.

"Umm, I think I am going to enjoy the weather before heading home," said Gohan nervously. _What a dumb answer_ , he thought.

"Uh, well, have a good weekend," Videl said raising an eyebrow.

"You too."

She closed the door and lifted off. Her copter quickly ascended through the air and then went in the direction of her home. Gohan looked at her quickly disappearing copter in the distance and sighed.

 _I really need to watch it. I guess I need to start bringing that capsule plane that Bulma gave me just in case,_ Gohan thought.

Later that evening, Videl had just finished a workout session in her dad's gym. It housed all the latest and greatest equipment for martial artists as it helped her achieve greater strength and agility. Videl came out of her bathroom after taking a shower. She sat down on her bed, took out her phone, and dialed her best friend, Erasa.

After a few seconds, a voice picked up on the other side. "Hi, Videl."

"Erasa?"

"Yeah, so what did you want to talk about?"

Videl sighed. _Guess I should just be upfront and tell her._

"Mito." There was a slight pause in the conversation.

"Yeah, I figured," Erasa said.

"Did you run off to talk to him at lunch?" Videl asked.

 _How did she know?_ Thought Erasa blinking her eyes. "Umm, yeah."

"And?"

"Well, I just wanted to see if he wanted to apologize."

"And did he?"

"Nope."

"I figured as much," Videl said shaking her head in disgust. She really didn't want to be around Mito. There was another pause in the conversation.

"Well, he did say something," Erasa hinted.

"Really? What?"

"He was really mean about it, but he still said that your dad didn't defeat Cell."

"What a jerk," Videl said.

"Yeah, but he also said something about only being in school because he had a goal to accomplish. He was rude and basically told me off."

 _How dare he and to my best friend,_ Videl thought seething with anger. "That's it. I'm done with him. He will have to answer to me on Monday. Nobody does that to my best friend and gets away with it."

Erasa was a bit concerned. "Wait, don't do that. I think it's better to just ignore him. Maybe he will go away."

Videl snorted. "As if. I should just get my dad to take him out of the school, but I admit, I am slightly curious about why he thinks the way he does. Either way, he needs to be set straight, and I will do just that on Monday."

"But Videl! Let's not get into any fights. You'll get in trouble," whined Erasa.

"He might be dangerous," Videl explained.

"Maybe, but promise me that you will talk to me on Monday before making any moves. This involves me too!" Erasa said.

"Yeah of course. You are my best friend for a reason."

"Thanks, Videl!"

"Anyways you doing anything this weekend?"

"Umm, not much. Want to come to the mall with me tomorrow?"

Videl sighed. "No, I want to train."

"Fine. You're no fun."

"Right. Anyways, I'll talk to you later."

"Bye!"

Videl hung up the phone. She was confused by the events of this week. Either way, she had to set things straight on Monday, but in the meantime, she needed to focus on her training.

Gohan had also trained all evening thanks to the help of his little brother. Goten was throwing rocks as fast as he could toward Gohan while the older half-Saiyan dodged them. This was an exercise in speed and agility.

Mito, however, was starting to realize he needed to make a move. His method of trying to find out Gohan's secrets was not working. All he had managed to do is associate with Gohan's friends. Even now, he could sense Gohan becoming stronger, training. Mito had been training very hard in hell so he was prepared for this moment, not that he ever thought it would come. He did, however, remember Goku and Gohan gaining huge amounts of strength in a short period of time, and he wouldn't dare let that happen again. _I will get you Gohan. I will take my revenge_ , he thought as he smirked.

A/N: Things are starting to heat up. What is going to happen? Anybody's guess. Please review and thank you.


	3. Testing the Waters

***Important A/N** *

 **I changed the name of Cell's alias from Lec to Mitochondria (Mito for short). I added a little bit to Chapter 1 regarding this during Cell's initial meeting with Gohan and his friends. More info at the bottom A/N.**

Chapter 3 – Testing the Waters

The grass covered the landscape with indications of small saplings and trees. Over the past seven years, the land was beginning to rejuvenate. Boulders still sprawled randomly across the landscape. It was evident the land had suffered a cataclysmic event not long ago.

Mito (Cell) felt the brisk northerly wind as he surveyed the area where he had the Cell Games to _remind_ him of his goal. That day was historic not only for Earth, but for Mito himself because it had not gone as planned. He had grand plans, far greater than any earthling could understand. The plan was to test his strength and defeat his creator's enemies. Unfortunately, things did not go as planned and he had to suffer in hell for it.

He walked over to a large crater, where his fate stood still. It was so unexpected. His enemy, Son Gohan, had suffered an arm injury beyond healing in an attempt to save Vegeta, however, Gohan still managed to defeat him. It was as if he summoned strength that did not exist in the final blast. Seeing the crater let him relive the vivid memory, even seven years later, which caused his anger to boil.

Through his time in Hell, he suffered, but Mito could only assume it made him stronger. He trained every waking hour for what he thought was no reason at all; however, fate has given him another shot, and this time, he will not make the same mistake.

Another intense flashback occurred when he remembered his final moment when he thought he had the edge, but then a Saiyan Prince he carelessly forgotten gathered enough energy to damage him. While remembering this, his anger continued to rise, and thus yelling, releasing huge amounts of energy in the process. It had been since the last moment in Hell with Frieza that he had powered up. Immediately, his head cleared, and he realized he might blow his cover, and thus he quickly powered down. He could not risk the others finding him out, so he quickly flew off releasing as little Ki as he could yet still being able to fly fast. It was just enough Ki for him to go off the radar, unless someone was nearby.

* * *

Gohan jolted up as a high-energy reading flooding his senses. His heart pounding at the unfamiliarity of it, he quickly jumped up from meditation position. He looked around trying to determine where it came from, unsure if it was close or far. It happened so quickly as if it was a single strong pulse of energy.

Gohan closed his eyes, trying to sense where it came from, however, he could feel nothing. It came as fast as it was strong. He took a deep breath to try and calm down.

"Big brother, are you okay?" said Goten opening his eyes at the sudden change in Gohan's demeanor. Trunks looked at his role model quizzically. It looked like Gohan was sweating out of nervousness.

Gohan took another deep breath to calm his nerves. "Yeah, I'm fine. I thought I sensed something. Never mind. Let's just get back into our meditation positions."

Gohan had taken the boys, Trunks and Goten, training and one of the methods was to meditate for a few hours. The boys had a tough time sitting still for two hours; however, Gohan assured them that it would help their power.

"But Gohan, we don't like meditating. Hasn't it been two hours yet?" Trunks whined teary eyed.

Gohan once again attempted to sense that energy reading he acquired. He hardly had enough time to sense it previously, so he wasn't sure what he was looking for. Instead, he sense Piccolo flying far away from the Lookout _fast_. He typically didn't leave the lookout, so Gohan wondered if Piccolo had sensed the same energy.

"Umm, on second thought, I think we have meditated enough today. Why don't you guys go back to the house and play a game. Big brother needs to check something out," Gohan explained. He tried his best not to show he was worried when he talked, but he would be lying to himself if he said he wasn't.

"Okay!" the boys responded. The two raced back to the house leaving Gohan alone.

He decided he needed to meet with his master to see if he had sensed the same thing. He needed to do this to calm his nerves. Perhaps it was some sort of energy from something else, however to Gohan, it felt like it was close.

Gohan powered up and flew towards Piccolo. After a minute, Gohan could feel Piccolo changing direction and heading toward him. Both warriors flew toward each other and it didn't take long for them to meet. The two floated quite some distance from the ground in the cloud deck, staring at each other. Piccolo nodded greeting his former student.

"Did you feel that?" asked Gohan. Piccolo nodded.

"I thought so," said Gohan.

"Were you able to tell where it came from?" Piccolo asked.

"No, I was hoping you were able to."

Piccolo closed his eyes searching for the power level he had felt earlier, but with no success. "It was on this planet and it was incredibly strong but I could not pinpoint who it was."

"Was it someone we know?"

Piccolo paused. "It was so fast, I couldn't tell but it felt empty yet limitless."

"Empty?" Gohan asked.

"Yes. There is the possibility that Vegeta or someone is trying out some new method of training, but I doubt that. I think I would have been able to place that surge of power if it was from someone we know," explained Piccolo.

"Do you think this is related to the vision you had?"

Piccolo closed his eyes and paused, "I don't know."

Gohan was really confused regarding the whole situation. Perhaps it was some sort of android, but he was certain that none existed except Android 18 who surprisingly married Krillin. All of Dr. Gero's beings were destroyed when Krillin and Trunks destroyed them and his lab. This burst of energy created more questions in an already strange set of events for Gohan including his adventures in high school.

* * *

The next day, school was in session once again. Gohan flew toward school in his Saiayman outfit, hoping that there wasn't any crime because he was running a little late. He would have taken the Nimbus, however, he knew if he really wanted to, he could fly much faster than his father's cloud.

He didn't sleep too well the previous night because of the unknown power that made itself known yesterday. Landing on the top of Orange Star High, he pushed the red button on his watch and detransformed into his normal school outfit. He ran down the hallway but realized he was actually a few minutes early. He opened the classroom door and walked up to his seat but realized Videl and Mito were arguing.

"I don't appreciate you telling off my best friend Mito."

Mito looked toward the front not even bothering to look at Videl, which only increased Videl's frustration.

"I don't care if you look at me or not. Let me make myself clear. If you mess with my friends again, there will be consequences," Videl said sternly.

Mito turned his head toward to Videl with a smirk plastered on his face. "As if you could do anything to me."

Gohan slid past them toward his seat in the middle of the row.

"Oh, I most certainly can. I can get you kicked out of the school and maybe you forgot, I happen to be the strongest fighter on this planet aside from my dad," Videl said triumphantly.

Mito burst out laughing. "You have got to be kidding me."

Videl's smirk immediately turned into a frown. "I don't see what is so funny about that."

Gohan intently listened in on their argument. He remembered that Mito told off Erasa that previous Friday and could only assume that was what Videl and Mito were arguing about.

"You always say that you are strong but why don't you _prove_ it?" Mito said with a smirk.

"If it would make you shut up, then gladly. What do you have in mind?"

"Easy, all you have to do is land one single punch on me."

Gohan didn't like that idea so much. "Umm, maybe you should try to find another way to make up."

"No," Videl said. "He has insulted my father and I so many times. He denies that my father defeated Cell and also treats my friends like crap. Enough is enough."

Gohan was confused by those statements. Was it really true that Mito didn't believe Mr. Satan defeated Cell? Gohan was curious to his reasoning yet didn't want to get involved with the feud between Videl and Mito. He wanted to live a normal life, but Mito and Videl made it increasingly difficult to do this. Was there something that Mito knew that he didn't know?

"Very well girl. After school, meet me out front and I prove to you that you are nothing. Only one punch. That is all you have to do," Mito said confidently.

At lunch, Mito was nowhere to be seen. Videl confidently took this cue that Mito would not show. The four teenagers, Videl, Erasa, Sharpner, and Gohan sat underneath a tree and enjoyed the pleasant fall temperatures.

"Can't wait for you to show that idiot who's the real fighter," Sharpner praised.

Videl smirked, "He won't even have a chance. I might just use one arm to prove how pathetic he really is."

"Guys, is this really the best course of action?" questioned a concerned Gohan.

Videl rolled her eyes. "Come on Gohan. The guy is not very nice and needs to be put in his place. He was incredibly rude to Erasa. It's not like I'll hurt him except for one soar spot where I punch him."

"Umm, I guess," murmured Gohan.

"Say Videl, did you like ever find out why he doesn't think your dad defeated Cell?" asked Erasa.

Videl pondered for a moment. "Maybe dad defeated him in a tournament or something. It would make sense that he would be upset at my dad but either way, after this fight, maybe he'll finally understand."

* * *

It was finally the end of the school day and Videl was ready for the sparring match. She wasn't expecting it to last very long because all he had to do was successfully punch someone who probably hasn't even fought before. That would take less than a few seconds for someone as skilled as Videl.

"Lead the way," Videl offered as all the kids got up and quickly left the school grounds.

"Gladly," Mito said with a smirk.

The two walked ahead leaving Sharpner, Erasa, and Gohan to follow shortly after. The five wandered to the back entrance of the school away from anyone.

"I decided to go back here to save you the humiliation you are about to witness," Mito confidently said.

Videl snorted. "Whatever. Let's just get this over and done with. It won't take long."

"Of course."

Videl got in her sparring position while Mito stood there without even budging. On the sidelines, Erasa, Sharpner, and Gohan watched, wondering why Mito was so confident.

 _Guess I should double check,_ Gohan thought as he searched for Mito's Ki signature. It was a challenge to determine strength on regular humans because they were so weak compared to him. Gohan's eyes enlarged slightly due to his surprise. Apparently, Mito did possess some power, but his Ki was low enough to be that within a regular human. Gohan quickly compared it to Videl and noticed that they were not far off from one another. _Maybe this guy can put up a fight against Videl?_

The magnitude of difference in power levels was hard to decipher compared to say someone like Krillin and Tien. Although Krillin and Tien both had similar strength, it was easier for someone trained in the art of Ki to sense their difference. Normal humans were a challenge, however, Gohan believed that Videl still held the upper hand.

"Son Gohan!"

Gohan left his thoughts and looked up toward Mito who seemed to call his name. "Yes?"

"Give us a countdown," Mito said then turning back to Videl. "Remember Videl Satan. One punch. That is all you need to do then I surrender."

"3."

"2."

"1."

"Go!"

Videl charged Mito who in the last second got into position. Videl threw her first punch confident it would hit, but Mito caught it at the last second. Surprised that Mito could move that fast and even more surprised that Mito's hand was not broken, Videl attempted another punch but only to miss. She immediately jumped back landing in a sparring position.

 _Seems this guy wasn't joking. He is good,_ Videl thought trying to decide what her next move was.

Gohan, Erasa, and Sharpner looked on quite surprised. Any other person, those punches would have damaged someone's hand if they had tried to catch them.

Not bothering to wait, Videl decided a fury of punches would do the job. She only had to land one, so she believed that Mito would slip up eventually. Not underestimating him, she used as much power as she could to unleash a fury of punches. As fast as she could, each punch seemed to either be blocked, caught, or missed. Over the course of a minute, she punched faster than one could anticipate, however, Mito seemed to be handling this without a problem.

"W- What?" Gohan was stunned. He quickly shook his head and rubbed his eyes if this was actually what he was witnessing. Through his fights with Saiyaman, Gohan knew Videl was among the strongest humans aside from Krillin, Tien, Yamcha, and Chiaotzu. She excelled were so many others couldn't. In fact, Gohan was convinced that she was stronger than her father, but what he was witnessing was shocking.

He quickly searched out Mito's Ki. It was significantly stronger than before, but still extremely weak compared to him or even someone like Yamcha. Mito's Ki appeared to be a bit stronger than Videl, which suggested that he might have some control of his Ki. While it is true that when one is fighting, their Ki goes up naturally, but this seemed too much of a coincidence. Gohan made a mental note to investigate this at a later time.

After a few minutes, her punches were becoming slower because she was becoming exhausted. She realized she needed to stop because she was not having any success. She abruptly stopped her fury of punches and jumped back into a confident fighting position, however, in her mind, her confidence was waning.

Panting, she stared at Mito who continued to have a smirk on his face. _How can he be so confident? What is his secret?_ Videl thought as she was trying to recuperate so she could try a different method.

"Who are you?" Videl asked between breaths.

Mito frowned. "Someone out to disprove your ingrained belief."

"Lies! Nobody has that type of strength except my father. Did you train under him? Did he piss you off or something?" Videl asked.

"Piss me off? No. I don't walk on the ground your father touts. Like I said, your father did not beat Cell. Your father is not the strongest in the world. Live with it. I'm done with this pathetic fight. You have failed."

He turned around and begun to walk away from the school grounds leaving a speechless Videl along with her friends. She collapsed to her knees completely humiliated in front of her friends and punched the grass out of frustration. What was worse was the fact that Gohan had to witness this. She would have felt more comfortable with just Erasa and Sharpner, but to have a new _friend_ see her like this was unimaginable.

Erasa quickly approached Videl on the ground and patted her back.

"It's okay Videl," Erasa assured her.

Sharpner was speechless. He wanted to ask the questions. Why. Who. What. However, he couldn't even muster up a sentence.

Gohan on the other hand watched Mito walk away in the distance locked on his ki signature. It had decreased back to that of a normal human. _He must have control of his Ki. How many humans out there actually know Ki besides us?_

"I- I don't understand?" Videl said to Erasa.

"Shhh, it doesn't matter. He probably just got lucky." Erasa suggested.

Sharpner, still mouth gaping open in shock, nodded his head. "That must be the case!"

 _No. I couldn't even lay a punch on him._ Videl realized. She knew better than to sugarcoat it. It was defeat in the purest form possible. Mito had given her proposition to successfully land one punch, _a single punch,_ and she couldn't even do that. She had failed.

Gohan realized he needed to understand where Mito got his power. He deduced that there must be some on this planet that have a vague understanding of Ki similarly to Master Roshi or Mercenary Tao did. _Maybe this guy learned under Tao or someone like that?_ He thought.

Videl finally decided to turn back to Sharpner and Gohan to see their looks. She assumed that Sharpner would look disappointed and that Gohan wouldn't care that much, but what she found was not that. Sharpner actually had a soft friendly smile and Gohan seemed to be pondering something. Disappointed in herself, she managed to get back to her feet.

Feeling the need to take responsibility, she murmured, "sorry you had to see that. It didn't go as I expected."

"That guy just got lucky, you'll show him next time," Sharpner once again said, affirming his belief that Videl was one of the strongest humans alive.

Gohan frowned. "No apology needed. You tried your best in the short time he gave you and gave it your all. That's all one can do."

 _Of course, he would have some profound thing to say and pivot anything negative in a positive light,_ Videl thought as she rolled her eyes.

"Guys, I'm going home. Obviously, I have a lot of training to do," She said looking away in embarrassment.

She threw her capsule on the ground revealing her copter. She quickly jumped in and took off not saying another word leaving her friends wondering if she was okay.

* * *

The rest of the week went as planned. Videl and her friends stayed away from Mito as much as he could, however, Gohan felt that Mito was always nearby as if he was watching them. He wondered if Mito had something to say to them. He had been curious all week where he got his power, but decided that his Ki was weak enough not to be a cause for concern. Although he was not the nicest person, he didn't seem like the type that would go on an evil rampage like others who have control of their Ki have done in the past.

Videl had also kept quiet about her sparring match with Mito on Monday. Erasa, Sharpner, and Gohan made sure not to talk about that subject worried that they would upset her. Even Gohan knew not to cast a negative light on Videl's pride because she lived for martial arts.

At the end of the day on Friday, Mito left quickly leaving the four behind. Sharpner also got up quickly. "I have to head out and help my dad with some moving."

"Well, I guess I'll see you on Monday Gohan! Have your phone on Videl. We have got to go to the mall on Saturday!" Erasa said as bubbly as ever.

Videl rolled her eyes at the prospect of spending yet another day at the mall with her best friend. She would make her try on clothes and talk about boys the entire day. Honestly, Videl just wanted to continue ramping up her training schedule and going to the mall was not included in this.

Erasa and Sharpner left, leaving Videl and Gohan left of the four friends. Videl gathered her bag signaled a goodbye to Gohan about to leave. "Guess I'll see you on Monday."

"Wait!"

She turned back around facing Gohan. "Yes?"

"Umm, I was wondering if we could talk for a little bit," Gohan suggested.

Videl was surprised by Gohan's proposition. Erasa had been the one to reach out to Gohan and she only made a little bit of an effort because she believed he was hiding something. However, within the past week, Mito had taken up her attention, not Gohan. She decided that she had to give him a chance at least.

"Umm, sure, my house is about a 20 minute walk, mind if we start walking home?" Videl suggested. Usually she would fly home, but she could also walk since it wasn't that far.

"Yeah, that would be good," Gohan added. The grabbed their bags and then walked out of the school grounds heading toward Videl's house.

"So what is that you wanted to talk about?"

He paused. "It's about Mito."

Videl let out a huge sigh. "I don't really want to talk about that whole incident."

"You can't run away from it forever," Gohan pushed. He knew that the sparring match with Mito had affected her in so many ways.

"Yeah, but why can't I talk about it to my best friend, Erasa, first?" Videl demanded.

"Because, you know you never will. I don't want to talk about how you weren't able to land a punch. I don't care about any of that. I already know you are one of the strongest fighters on Earth, you push yourself to become stronger every day, heck, you even save peoples lives. There's a lot to be proud of and one little sparring match is really nothing in the grand scheme of things."

Videl softly smiled at the praise Gohan gave her. It was just so sincere despite the belief that Gohan held secrets from her. "Right, but I have never really failed like that before, so I really need to spend some time and think about where I went wrong."

Gohan stopped. "Like I said, I don't care about that. That isn't you. I can tell it's getting to you. If you let it get to you too much, you'll struggle finding a clear path to become even stronger."

Videl was surprised at what Gohan was saying. It was as if he had experience in the area of training. _That can't be though,_ Videl affirmed in her thoughts.

"The Videl I know is the bravest person in the world. You save people Videl. That's what really counts… not some stupid fight with Mito"

Videl frowned. "Thanks Gohan, but how would you know I am the bravest person ever?"

"The situations you get in to save people you don't even know. The way you fight in those situations. That's bravery," added Gohan.

Her whole demeanor softened. She needed this. It's hard to go day in and day out saving people without being reminded that she is doing good in society. "Thanks Gohan, but I have a question."

"Yeah?"

"You said the way I fight. How would you know that? Are you _Saiyaman_ or something? Because nobody but the bad guys know how I fight when I'm saving people," Videl said half-jokingly.

She did have a little suspicion in the back of her mind that Gohan was associated with Saiyaman. Every time got called by the police, Gohan went to the restroom. She had heard from Erasa and Sharpner that he was in the restroom for an extended period, which only added to her suspicion.

Gohan nervously laughed. "You know me, I couldn't fight like that."

"Like what?" Videl asked.

"Ummm, like Saiyaman."

Videl smirked. "Sure Gohan, sure."

 _Gohan isn't half bad. I really should be more open to spending time with him even if I think he is being suspicious. He is the most positive compassionate person I know,_ Videl thought.

"So, I was wondering… Did you find out any information on Mito? Like where he lives and stuff? Since I know you have access to that."

Videl was surprised. _How did he know about that?_ "Umm yeah, but I came to a dead end. It's like he never existed."

Gohan frowned. "Is that normal?"

"No, but he could have come from some tiny country village in the middle of nowhere for all I know," suggested Videl.

 _That's odd,_ Gohan thought. "So you aren't going to try to figure him out anymore?"

"I don't know yet… I'm more likely to find out your secrets rather than his," Videl explained carefully looking at Gohan's expression.

Gohan nervously laughed, "Well- umm, let's hope you don't dig too deep."

"Sorry Gohan, but if we are going to be good friends, you have to tell me more about you. So far I know very little about you. What's not to say you are trying to become my friend just to get close to someone rich and famous like my dad?" proposed Videl.

Despite saying that, Videl knew deep down this was not the case. It was so against Gohan's nature to do something like that. Even after knowing him for a month, her intuition told her that he was trustworthy, but for some reason, in order for her to trust someone, she needs to know about him.

"Actually, I don't need to do that. I already know someone rich and fam-" Gohan said but quickly put his hands on his mouth realizing what he was about to say.

"Gohan? What were you about to say? You know someone rich and famous? Who might that be exactly?"

"Eep" was all Gohan could say realizing he just let out one of his secrets. _So much for trying to blend in._

"Well, Gohan? I'm waiting."

Gohan sighed. "Umm, well does you count?"

"Gohan…"

"Fine, my family is close with… ummmm… Bulma Briefs?" Gohan said slowly wondering what Videl's reaction would be.

"WHAT?" Videl yelled.

 **"** Umm yeah. Is that okay?"

"Gohan… who are you fooling? You can't possibly expect me to believe that."

Gohan was taken aback. _She thinks I'm lying?_ Videl realized that Gohan meant what he said.

"Prove it."

"What?"

"You heard me."

Gohan sighed and wondered what he got himself into. Then he remembered that he actually had a family photo with the Briefs family, one of the very few photos that included Vegeta. He reached into his pocket taking out his wallet and then he reached in pulling out a small photo. Videl peered over to see what he had pulled out and gasped.

On the left side stood a woman with black hair, who she assumed was Gohan's mother. Next to his mother on the right were Gohan and two children, one with wild black hair and one with lavender hair. Then stood Bulma Briefs, heir of Dr. Breifs, owner and founder of Capsule Corporation, the largest richest company on the planet. To the right stood a shorter man frowning and not smiling like the rest of them. To Videl, it looked like he didn't want to take part in that picture.

"See? That's my mom, brother, his best friend, Bulma, and for lack of better terms, her _husband_ ," said Gohan.

Videl couldn't believe it. How was it that some kid in the mountains was connected with the most famous person on the planet? Everyone knew of Bulma Briefs. She was certain that Gohan was lying but now that she thought of it, Gohan was not the type of person to lie per se, but just withhold secrets. These were secrets that she believed she had a right to know.

"Wow, I guess I was wrong about you," Videl slowly explained.

This had huge implications according to Videl. If he withheld something like that from her, who knows what else he is withholding? More importantly, Videl realized that Gohan was not friends with her so he could get close to her father. Heck, he had even more famous people in his life than herself or her father. She pondered this for a second, but suddenly, recalled seeing that woman Gohan claimed his mother before. She scratched her head, _but where?_

"Anyway, I actually wanted to ask you something personal?"

Videl sighed. I guess it was only fair. She had finally learned a secret of Gohan's, a big one in fact. "Yes?"

"Umm, what do you think about what Mito said? About your father not being the one who defeated Cell?"

Videl frowned. _What is it with people questioning that these days? First Mito… now Gohan?_

"I think it's preposterous. Of course my father beat Cell. We all saw it happen. Cell was there, dad was there, then Cell was gone."

"…Right."

Videl looked peculiarly at Gohan. Why would Gohan bring that up? No matter. According to Videl, Gohan was the only guy she knew (besides Mito) that wasn't obsessed with her father. Gohan was actually friends with Videl because she was Videl, not 'the daughter of Mr. Satan.'

Gohan on the other hand realized that the lies of Cell's defeat are so ingrained in society, that even the daughter of Mr. Satan doesn't know the truth. Gohan was disappointed that even Mr. Satan would lie to his own daughter. The young Saiyan was concerned that with all the talk of the Cell Games, that his deepest darkest secret might eventually come out. He had to make sure that it never got out if he wanted to live a normal life, but it would seem certain events were beginning to make that a challenge.

 **A/N** : I changed the name to Mitochondria (Mito for short). Thank you Guest reviewer on Oct 10 2016 for the suggestion. This is the most drastic change I have ever done in the middle of writing a fanfic and I hope the readers approve. I made the change for all chapters. I didn't really like the name Lec to begin with. Anyway, the plot will begin to thicken in the coming chapters as Gohan's life turns upside down. I am realizing that this story may become a bit darker than I normally write, so heads up for that. Again, sorry for the long delay for getting this chapter out. Hopefully, I'll get the next one out in the next few weeks. Thank you all for reading!

 **Please review! Any suggestions are great!**

Note to reviewers…

Smithback: Thanks for the review. Yeah, Cell coming back will hopefully be a change from other stories.  
Gokuu the carrot: Thanks for the review.  
Yunayuu: Appreciate the review. I am trying to slow, but I expect this story to be roughly 50k words, so the plot will have to thicken eventually!  
BlankingOut: Thank you for your review. I admit your review got me going.  
Guest: Thank you for the idea of the name change :) Much appreciated.


	4. Gohan's Delimma

**A/N:** Thank you for your reviews, favorites, and follows! Note to reviewers at the bottom. I have a question... Are you all able to see the _italics_ I use for *thinking*?

Chapter 4 – Gohan's Dilemma

Videl and Erasa were having a girls evening out which meant that Erasa was basically dragging her best friend around the mall. The plan was to do some shopping then go back to Videl's house for a sleepover.

"Ooh! Let's go in here. Like, maybe we'll find something for you in here," Erasa insisted, signaling Videl to follow her.

Videl groaned. "For the last time, I don't need any more clothes!"

"But how are you ever going to get a boyfriend if you just keep wearing these baggy clothes?" asked Erasa.

"Erasaaaa," Videl whined. "I don't need a boyfriend right now."

"Yes you do," Erasa proclaimed. "I know there's boys you like."

Videl narrowed her eyes looking at her friend quizzically. "What are you talking about?"

"I know you don't like Sharpner, but what about Go-" Erasa said but was immediately interrupted.

"Don't you dare say it! I don't like him. Why would I like someone who just hides a bunch of secrets?" Videl reasoned with a scowl plastered on her face.

Truth be told, she was beginning to notice Gohan more, not in a _sexual_ way like her bubbly friend suggests, but that he is far friendlier than she gave him credit for. He is the first person in a long time that wanted to know her because she is Videl, not her father's daughter. On top of that, he seems very compassionate and caring. Videl smiled thinking of him.

"See you are smiling when you think of Gohan," Erasa pointed out giggling.

Videl immediately frowned again in disgust. "No way."

"Yup. I'm your best friend. I can see these things," explained Erasa.

"Stop it Erasa," pressured Videl.

"Not unless you admit that you like him a teeny tiny bit."

"I'd never admit something to so absurd," countered Videl.

"Fine then, maybe you like Saiyaman," Erasa suggested.

"Umm. No. Way too nerdy for me," Videl countered.

"Yeah, I think Gohan is the better choice too," Erasa agreed with a smirk.

Videl sighed. "Can we just head back home? Our cooks can fix us something good to eat."

"Fine, be like that. But can we go by the park before we head home?" Erasa suggested.

 _Some fresh air would be nice,_ thought Videl. "Yeah."

* * *

The duo walked to the park, not far from Satan City Mall, to get some fresh air and enjoy the warm fall temperatures. Videl was glad to be away from the Mall.

"It's such a nice day! I wonder what Sharpner and Gohan are doing?" Erasa asked paying close attention to Videl when she uttered _Gohan's_ name.

"I don't know. Sharpner is probably at the gym lifting weights and Gohan is doing whatever he does," Videl reasoned.

"Say, what do you think-" Erasa said but immediately stopped talking because she noticed something, rather someone walking in the distance. It was none other than Mito.

"What?"

"It's Mito," Erasa quietly said, pointing behind her. Videl immediately turned around and saw Mito roaming the park alone.

 _What is he doing here? Did he follow us?_ Videl thought. Suddenly, she wanted to see what he was doing here by himself. After the embarrassing defeat the other day, she absolutely needed to know Mito's _secret_. Who trained him? Where did he come from? Truth be told, Videl knew very little about Mito except that he was a jerk.

"Should we see what he's doing?" Erasa asked.

"Duh," Videl said. She was a little nervous approaching him especially knowing that he could easily beat here. Only her dear father was able to do that or so she thought.

The two slowly walked up to his back. Erasa decided that she was going to be friendly to him rather than be confrontational, however, she didn't think that was Videl's philosophy. Erasa liked to think of herself as a forgiving person so she wouldn't hold any grudge against Mito.

"I know you are there Erasa and _Videl,_ " Mito said without turning around.

Videl was surprised. How did he know they were there? _He must have been following us._

"Hi Mito," Erasa greeted kindly.

"What do you two want," sneered Mito.

"We just saw you in the park and wanted to say hi. You don't have to get all mad about that," Videl explained.

"Well you said your hi - now leave," Mito said.

"Okay, but can you tell us what you are doing in the park all alone?" Erasa asked.

"Needed food and walked through it. Stupid humans and their requirement for food," he muttered.

"What?" Videl asked. _What on earth does he mean by that?_

"Umm, well, I guess we'll get going," Erasa said nervously.

"Who trained you," Videl asked, ignoring her friend's suggestion

Mito turned around smirking. "What's it to you?"

Videl paused, not wanting to bring up her embarrassing defeat the other day; however, she needed to know the secret to his strength. "You _defeated_ me the other day and I was just wondering how?"

Mito began laughing while Videl was starting to become irritated. "What's so funny?" asked Videl.

"You. But if you must know, one might argue that my powers were _stolen_ , but let's just say, my _father_ helped me achieve perfection," Mito explained.

"What? Stolen? What power's are you talking about?" Videl asked.

"Watch."

Mito lifted his hand, opening his palm, and slowly, a spherical ball of light appeared in his hand. Videl leaned in closer but felt the warmth of the energy thus she leaned back away from it.

 _That looks like the tricks those from the Cell Games used,_ thought Videl as the ball of energy mesmerized her. The ball of energy became larger and larger, thus becoming warmer. Suddenly, a light breeze seemed to be emanating from the ball of energy. Videl felt her clothes ripple from the breeze, however, it seemed to be localized because the trees surrounding her at the park remained mostly still due to calm winds surrounding them.

He then raised his arm, smirking and staring at Videl, who had her mouth gaped open in amazement. Then suddenly, Videl had a flashback just before the Cell games. She remembered the day Earth lost most of its military with the wave of an arm from Cell. This flashback sent chills down her spine as she vividly remembered Cell using the same action of raising an arm holding an energy blast. She remembered watching the TV, questioning what Cell was about to do. Then suddenly, Cell had destroyed the entire military with one wave of his hand. Erasa continued to look on at amazement, however, Videl looked on in fear. She remembered her saddened state when her father agreed to fight the same person who defeated the military in one blow. _How can father still say these are tricks?_

Mito's smirk deepened as she saw fear in Videl's eyes. With his arm raised, he let out a grunt and pushed the energy blast from his body toward the sky. A gust of wind occurred when releasing the blast. To Videl, it looked like a fireball heading toward space. Mito fisted his hand feeling the invigoration of releasing energy.

"That my _dear friend_ is the power I'm talking about," Mito explained calmly.

The wind had stopped and the warmth of the ball of energy was now gone. Videl tried to recollect herself and push those thoughts of Cell deep within her mind. For some reason, the vivid thoughts made _Cell_ seem so real, but she knew that her father defeated Cell and that he was no longer a threat. For some reason, she couldn't quite shake the feeling that Mito was actually Cell but she knew it to be preposterous.

"Wow, can you do it again?" Erasa asked bewildered.

"No."

Erasa pouted not realizing the significance of Mito's power.

"W- Where did you learn that?" Videl stuttered, not feeling good about being this close to Mito.

"That's none of your business. I already explained enough to you humans."

Videl shook her head. "T- That's the same thing Cell used!" she pointed out.

Mito smirked once more. "Indeed."

Videl was taken aback. Does that mean that Mito knew how to fly like Cell, the Delivery Boy, or _Saiyaman?_ What were the implications of this? Why did her father constantly say these were tricks? _They felt so real._

"Now you might begin to realize how preposterous it is to think your weakling human father could defeat the _perfection_ of Cell."

Videl stared at Mito confused. How was it that her father was strong enough to withstand those tricks? Certainly, there had to be a way to withstand those explosions and other tricks, because her father _did in fact_ defeated Cell. For that, she was certain of.

"Wow, you certainly are gifted," Erasa explained.

Suddenly, Mito's eyes narrowed and he began searching his surroundings looking up and down, side to side. Videl was confused by the actions of Mito. It looked like he was preparing for an ambush; however, Videl also looked around and saw nobody coming. Every second of this encounter with Mito became stranger. As quickly as Mito was looking around the park, he stopped and faced Videl and Erasa.

"Hah, those fools. Not today," Mito said shaking his finger smirking.

Suddenly, he took off running, faster than the eye could see. Videl was shocked to see Mito running faster than any human could run. He took off away from the park, into the streets of Satan City, leaving a bewildered Erasa and highly concerned Videl.

"Wha?" was all Erasa could muster. One second he was talking to them and the next, he as gone.

"Where did he go? Did you see where he ran off too? It happened so fast!" Videl abruptly said.

"No, I have no idea," Erasa mentioned.

"Damn."

Videl was definitely not feeling comfortable about the whole situation. This little meeting just added more to her never-ending list of questions. Although she had seen Sayaman fly and have super human strength, she had never witnessed the balls of explosion that Cell used in person. She vaguely remembered her father mentioning that in the previous Martial Arts Tournaments, long before his reign in martial arts, people used those same tricks. She knew that those mysterious fighters at the Cell games also used those tricks and now Mito was added among them. She would have to have a conversation with her dad explaining that she thinks there is more to those blasts of light than calling them tricks.

"Wow, that was quite something. I have never seen anything like that before," Erasa explained.

 _But what about the Cell Games? We were there watching it together,_ thought Videl but realized she shouldn't bring up the Cell Games and ruin Erasa's mood regarding this incident.

 _It's probably best I don't mention this to anyone. What would happen if I tried to show people that this trick might not be a trick? What would father think? Perhaps Mito had some sort of light producing mechanism hidden in his clothes._ This was the same thought process she used when explaining why Saiyaman was able to do the tricks he could. However, she was beginning to question her method.

"AHHH!" Erasa screamed.

Videl's head jolted up after hearing Erasa's shriek. _What now?_ "What's wrong?"

"I swear I just saw a giant green animal moving behind those trees," Erasa said frightened.

Videl laughed not taking her friend seriously. "A giant green animal? What are you talk-"

Erasa was not kidding. Suddenly, a very tall green alien looking being appeared from the trees and approached the two. Videl wanted to run, however, for some reason which she could not explain, he didn't seem threatening. However taking no precaution, she got into her defensive position, prepared to fight off this monster. Erasa jumped behind her using her best friend as protection.

"Don't come any closer else or we'll have to fight," Videl warned.

"You wouldn't want that," the being sternly said.

Suddenly, another recollection from the Cell Games occurred. Yes, she had seen this green man before, at the Cell games. She couldn't mistake the white cape.

"W- Who are you?" Videl stuttered.

The being paused for a moment. "Piccolo."

 _Piccolo? Why does that name sound familiar?_ Videl thought. She continued to be prepared to attack. The day just kept getting stranger for her.

"Y- You can actually speak?" Erasa gulped.

"Indeed. I was following an energy signal but suddenly, it disappeared as I approached," Piccolo explained. "Was it one of you?"

"Energy signal?" Videl asked.

Piccolo sighed. This was not the Ki he had been following. While he was meditating on Kami's lookout, he felt a surge of energy emanating from the very park he had just landed on. The energy was dark in nature but surprisingly, it had some familiarity to it.

"Looks like we have company," said Piccolo as he peered up and to his right.

Videl was confused what he meant by this but cautiously decided to take her eyes off Piccolo and stare in the direction his eyes pointed toward. In the sky off in the distance, he saw a dot, which appeared to be coming closer. After a few seconds, she confirmed it looked like a person. _Is it Saiayman?_ She never thought it would be comforting to have Saiyaman show up out of the blue.

Suddenly, the person flying toward them landed right by Piccolo. This person was most certainly not Saiyaman. This person wasn't even wearing a costume but the presence of this man was unnerving. His whole demeanor was making her uncomfortable.

"Namek!"

"Vegeta."

There was an awkward silence for a moment. "Are you speaking with these females because they possess the energy I sensed earlier?" he said disbelievingly.

"No, it's not them," Piccolo confirmed.

"Then you are wasting your time," Vegeta said gruffly, dismissing the two girls standing in front of Piccolo.

"It would seem that the others didn't sense it," Piccolo noted.

"Of course, their capabilities are waning in these peaceful times," Vegeta reasoned, scowl plastered on his face. "It would seem I came here for no reason, however, that energy I sensed felt like-" Vegeta explained but was cut off by Piccolo.

"…Cell."

Vegeta raised an eyebrow. "Which is not possible."

"Right."

Cell was gone suffering in the deep depths of Hell. Piccolo didn't need to worry about him, but it seemed like someone else with control of their Ki was catching him off guard. Although the Ki signature felt like Cell, it was still different and far weaker. Piccolo still had to determine where that power came from. He wondered if this power had any connection to the extreme surge he felt a while back.

"Did you two happen to notice anything out of the ordinary?" Piccolo inquired facing Videl and Erasa.

Videl had intently listened to their conversation, determined to understand what they were talking about. Finally, one of them had addressed her and Erasa. What was she to say about this? She vaguely understood that they must have been talking about Mito, but what was their interest in him exactly? How did they know to find them? Also, what is with people able to perform all these tricks today?

Videl knew that Erasa would let her command the conversation. Erasa knew not to get into affairs such as these and let her best friend deal with these types of situations. Videl decided that she needed to do more research on Mito and these mysterious warriors who possessed the skill to perform _tricks_. She had to do things her way and not have some random person and what appeared to be an alien handle this. She was Videl Satan, crime fighter of Satan City, and daughter of Hercule Satan who defeated Cell.

"Well?" pushed Piccolo.

"Nothing happened here," was Videl's response.

"You lie," Vegeta immediately said.

"I do not!" Videl defended.

"You have nothing to lose female, so why do you choose to lie?" Vegeta asked snidely.

Videl was surprised that this man could see straight through her. She believed that she had picked up a thing or two interrogating criminals but it didn't faze this man. How would they know that anything happened at the park? _They must have known somehow that Mito performed those tricks here. Were they watching them?_ Videl made sure and didn't see anybody around when Mito released his energy blast.

Piccolo could see that Vegeta's _method_ was not working, so he decided to interject. "We felt a release of energy here. Who was it?"

Videl hesitated but decided that if she were to maintain some of the control of the situation, she would have to figure this out herself, not have these two do it. She would deal with Mito herself. "We saw nothing."

"Stupid answer female. Perhaps I should resort to methods I had to deal with when I was your age if I lied" Vegeta smirked as he carefully studied the girl's facial expressions.

A chill went down Videl's spine. She didn't know what he was planning but she could tell it wasn't good.

"Not worth our time. Let's figure this out ourselves," Piccolo suggested.

The nerve of the girl who lied straight to his face. Vegeta contemplated ending her life for lying to the Saiyan Prince, however, he knew that his _wife_ would have thrown a fit if he were to do such a thing.

"Is there a problem? If so, you should let me help," Videl suggested trying to gain the upper hand. She _hated_ being left in the dark.

"Why would we require the help of a weak human female?" Vegeta asked crossing his arms.

"Hey! I'll have you know I am the strongest female on the planet and one of the strongest fighters ever to live," Videl defended.

Surprised by her confidence, Piccolo decided to do a quick check and sensed her power out. Surprisingly, the female was not joking. Her power level was much higher than your average human, but still pathetically low compared to him.

"You have significant strength for a human not in control of their Ki, but you wouldn't stand a chance against a true warrior," Piccolo explained.

"Namek! Let's go!" Vegeta annoyed that they were conversing with a random human girl.

"Huh? My father was the one to defeat Cell. You have no idea what you are talking about," Videl once again defended. That got Vegeta and Piccolo's attention.

"Kakarot's eldest has a child?" Vegeta sarcastically asked smirking.

"Who are you referring to?" Piccolo inquired.

"Hercule Satan of course, who else?" Videl explained.

It was not very often Vegeta busted out laughing, however, he couldn't help himself. He remembered that loud oaf of a man at the Cell Games and also remembered that he took Gohan's credit afterward. If it were up to him, he would have disposed of the fool, however, Gohan insisted that he wasn't worth their time. Gohan, the good doer he was, wanted to enjoy the peace and not go after that man who insulted them.

"Umm, is your friend okay?" Erasa asked the green man as Vegeta was finishing up laughing.

Piccolo was too shocked at this revelation. So they were talking to the daughter of that man?

"I didn't know that oaf was capable of reproducing," Vegeta said smirking.

Videl was becoming irritated. What was with everyone mocking or discounting her father these days? Shouldn't people respect her father since he was the one to finally finish off Cell?

"Let's go Green Bean. I don't know if I can stand staying in the presence of the offspring of that liar without killing her," Vegeta taunted.

"Are you saying you think my father didn't defeat Cell?" Videl asked attempting to keep her confidence. Although completely offended, she was aware the green being called Piccolo was indeed at the Cell Games. She was curious to what he had to say on the subject.

"Let's go Namek!" pressured Vegeta.

"Hold on. Piccolo was it? You were there – at the Cell Games," Videl commented.

Piccolo was surprised she'd recognize him as one of the warriors at the games. He hesitated. "Yes."

"Then you can tell me how my father defeated Cell?" Videl asked.

"No."

"No?"

Piccolo closed his eyes. "That is something you will have to ask your father."

Piccolo lifted his body off the ground and began flying away. Vegeta smirked also lifting himself off the ground, following Piccolo.

"Wait!" Videl yelled.

It was too late. They were nothing but little specs in the sky quite some distance away. They flew so fast, much faster than he'd ever see Saiyaman fly before. She sighed. This entire event was extremely confusing for her. How was it that Mito appeared, showed them something she believed to be tricks despite seeming so real, and then disappeared so quickly? Then suddenly, two random people who dissed her father flew from seemingly nowhere complicating things.

"That was incredibly bizarre," Erasa commented.

"Yeah."

Suddenly, Videl had a flashback to a few days ago when Gohan showed her a picture of his family. She suddenly became shocked at the revelation. She acutely remembered the man with the pointed hair in the picture. How could she have missed it? Gohan was connected to that man somehow. _Was that man Bulma's husband?_

This just complicated things even further. How was it that Gohan was connected to this whole situation? Somehow Gohan was connected to the richest family in the world who then was connected to the green being known as Piccolo, who was then finally connected to the Cell games, thus her father. It seemed like one large improbable circle. She would have to confront Gohan about all this to finally get some answers, _or so she hoped_.

* * *

That next Monday, Videl needed to speak with Gohan. She decided to ignore Mito and go straight to Gohan for answers. He was the only sane person who seemed to be connected to everything, however, throughout the day, she hadn't had a chance to speak with Gohan alone. Now that it was the end of the day, she only had one last opportunity.

Videl was attempting to catch up to Gohan who seemed to leave class quickly once the bell rung. She rounded the corner and ran out the front doors, however, there was no sign of Gohan but Mito began approaching her.

"So Satan, do you know the truth? Did you speak with your pathetic excuse of a father?" Mito asked.

"No."

"Hmm, guess you are dumber than you look. After all you have witnessed, I would have thought that even you would ask your father to clarify."

Videl stared at him. Although he had a point, she couldn't take him seriously. She really needed to have a conversation with her father regarding everything that she had learned in the past several weeks.

"Go away Mito. I don't have time to deal with you," Videl grumbled.

"Hm, no matter. You'll learn the truth soon enough and then there will be nothing you or your father can do about it."

Just then, Gohan appeared from the front door where he saw Videl and Mito conversing. He could tell that Videl wasn't having it with Mito at the second.

"Gohan."

"Hi Mito. Hi Videl."

Videl couldn't understand how Gohan constantly had a positive attitude. No matter the situation, he always seemed to find something positive in it.

"Son Gohan."

Gohan looked at Mito. "What's up?"

"You truly are pathetic," Mito said with a scowl.

"What?" asked Gohan.

"Listen Mito. I'm sick of you trashing my friends," Videl explained pointing her finger at him and also defending Gohan, who was surprised by this.

"Yeah? What are you going to do about it? We already clarified that you are no match for me. Gohan, on the other hand, is a _worthy_ opponent," Mito explained.

"W- What?" Gohan stuttered. _Can he sense my Ki?_

"What on earth you talking about?" questioned Videl.

"Gohan knows what I'm talking about. The boy has power you can't even comprehend."

Gohan was shocked at what he was hearing. How on earth would Mito know about his strength? Did he know that he was, in fact, Saiyaman or maybe even a _Saiyan_? Gohan realized that Mito might have some control of his Ki, but was it possible that Mito could sense Ki just as he could?

"W- What are you t- talking about?" Gohan stuttered nervously.

Gohan immediately sensed Mito's power to familiarize whom he was dealing with. Were there secrets about Mito that connect him to his past?

"Son Gohan. Why don't you power up to your max? You know, _transform?_ Let's just see how strong you truly are."

Gohan was flabbergasted to hear that Mito was indeed aware of his power. "Who are you?" Gohan said in a much more serious tone.

Videl decided to interject. She was clueless to what was going on, but she wanted to know immediately. It was almost if Mito and Gohan had some sort of _history._ "Listen Mito, I don't know what you are talking about Gohan and having power, but you need to stop annoying him. I would like to talk to Gohan in private now if you don't mind."

Ignoring Videl, Mito went on to say, "Gohan we both know you hide incredible power. My question for you is if you still have that power or if you have regressed through this _peaceful_ time."

"Who. Are. You." repeated Gohan.

"Someone who knows the _truth_ ," Mito countered.

"And how do you know this?" asked Gohan.

Mito smirked. "Unlike the rest of these fools who buy into Videl's idiotic father defeating Cell, I know the truth Son Gohan. I know who _really_ defeated Cell."

Gohan was trembling that his secret could so easily be spilled. How could he miss the fact that Mito knew who he was? In fact, who was Mito? How did he know this secret? More importantly, how did he know about his transformation? All this time he had spent trying to be a normal _human_ was about to go to the wayside.

Videl had enough. "Okay Mito. Humor me. Who defeated Cell?"

"You are standing right by him," Mito said with a smirk.

Gohan was sweating bullets now. This is not how he planned his afternoon to go. What was he to do?

"You!? You think you defeated Cell Mito? You can't be serious," Videl scoffed.

"Not me but this fool," Mito said pointing toward Son Gohan.

Videl perplexed by what Mito was saying. More importantly, she realized that Mito was absolutely insane. Who would ever think that someone as innocent as Son Gohan would be the one who defeated Cell? To think anybody but her father defeated Cell was preposterous.

"Son Gohan? Please." Videl didn't even take him seriously.

Mito knew that she didn't believe him. He smirked, "No matter. You will soon understand the truth. And when you do, you'll be sorry."

"Let's go Gohan…. Gohan?" Videl saw her friend sweating, trembling as if he was extremely nervous. He looked away from her when she spoke to him.

"Are you okay Gohan?" Videl asked concerned.

"Y- Yeah," he stuttered.

Mito grunted and walked away from the two. Gohan caught a glimpse of Mito's smirk unsure of his motive. Why did he know the truth?

Once Mito was some distance away, Videl needed to ask Gohan some questions. "Hey Gohan, are you sure you are okay?"

"I'm fine."

Videl had never seen Gohan this concerned before. Normally, whenever she had questioned him, he would be a little nervous, but now he seemed completely petrified.

"…Okay. Speaking of Mito, I ran into him over the weekend with Erasa," Videl went on.

Gohan perked up at hearing this. _What did she find out?_

"Wait, do you still have that one picture of your family?" Videl asked.

Gohan fidgeted in his pocket pulling out his wallet. He took out the photo. The photo included his family and the Briefs'. "This one?"

Videl confirmed that the Vegeta she had met was indeed the same person in the photo. "Yes."

"What about it?" Gohan asked.

"That man you said was Bulma's husband. Was he at the Cell games?"

This caught Gohan completely off guard. He thought he was done speaking or thinking about the Cell Games. Still nervous from the interaction with Mito, suddenly he became more nervous with a tight knot in his chest. What was he to do now? Was he supposed to lie directly to Videl? To this point, he had withheld the truth a few times, but he had never lied directly to her face.

Gohan sighed. Deciding to take a leap of faith, he responded, "...Yes."

Videl smiled at the honest answer. "Well, I ran into him along with a tall green man named Piccolo."

"W- What about them?"

Videl smirked. "These two were some of the mysterious warriors that appeared at the Cell Games, the ones that used _tricks_?"

Gohan sighed. "Yes."

"Then they can tell me how my father defeated Cell?"

He didn't have time to think about this. He wanted to see Piccolo immediately and tell him the turn of events. Apparently, there was a student at his school that was aware of his power. In fact, that student also possessed some power, he didn't know to what degree. That had to change, though.

"I'm sorry Videl. I'm not feeling too well. Can we talk about this some other time?" Gohan offered.

"No. I _need_ answers now," Videl pushed.

"You don't understand."

"Then help me understand."

Gohan paused for a moment. "Why did that green man and Vegeta approach you and Erasa?"

"I'll answer yours if you answer mine,"

Although concerned what she was to ask him, he needed information too. This had been the first time since the Cell Games that he was truly concerned. All his life, Gohan knew of those that had the ability to use Ki. It was their tightknit group that his father was responsible for bringing together. Although these warriors had different upbringing, the group was mainly _functional._ Now suddenly by the strangest events, there was someone else among them. In the past, this meant a new enemy, however, Gohan was not convinced either way at this point who or even _what_ Mito is. Knowing that Videl wouldn't budge unless she had _some_ answers, Gohan gave in.

"Fine."

Congratulating herself on finally getting him to open up, she immediately asked about the young Saiyan. "Great! I want to know what Mito meant about your power. Do you know how to fight?"

Gohan paused once more. He expected her to ask about Mito not himself. Now was not the time to be dishonest. If Mito truly knew about his power, it was just a matter of time before Videl found out.

"Y- Yes."

Videl raised an eyebrow. "Who taught you?"

Gohan closed his eyes. "My father." Gohan purposely left out Piccolo who had been his main teacher, but Videl didn't need to know about that _just yet_.

"Was he someone I would know? I know a lot about martial artists," Videl insisted.

"Umm, Son Goku?" Gohan hesitantly said.

Videl was shocked. For the first few seconds, she didn't believe him, but when has Gohan ever lied directly to her face? Immediately following those few seconds, it suddenly made sense to Videl. _Son_ Goku. _Son_ Gohan. She smiled the revelation.

"Daughter of the current champion and son of the former champion. Who would have thought? I guess you _do_ know how to fight. It makes total sense," Videl explained.

"R- Right," Gohan said nervously. "Now can you answer mine?"

"Umm, what was yours again?"

"Why did Piccolo and Vegeta approach you and Erasa?" asked Gohan.

Videl cleared her throat. "Umm, well we kind of ran into Mito at the park and he showed us one of his tricks. Then next thing I knew, those weird guys showed up."

"Tricks!?" Gohan now had confirmation that Mito was in control of his Ki.

"Yeah. He shot out one of those beams of light into the sky."

 _How could I have missed it?_ Gohan was surprised that Vegeta and Piccolo were able to sense that surge of energy but he wasn't. He immediately tried to remember what activity he was doing over the weekend to miss Mito's energy signature. Saddened that he missed it, he realized he was out of practice. He needed to start training even harder than he was now.

"Hmm. Mito sounds like nothing but trouble. I'd stay away from him if I were you until I figure out what is going on," Gohan warned.

 _What? No way._ "You can't leave me out of this Gohan," she said.

"Right."

 _Although I might eventually have to get my father to deal with Mito. He is just far stronger than I am,_ Videl admitted. However, Videl immediately remembered back a few minutes ago when Mito dismissed her and claimed that Gohan was a worthy opponent. _If I couldn't even lay a hand on Mito, how strong is Son Gohan?_

 **A/N:** Oh man, how wrong you are Videl about your father. Next chapter will be very interesting for Son Gohan. Things will really heat up next chapter. More romance between the two to come! It should hopefully be out within two weeks (keep in mind I am finishing my thesis also, so lots of writing). Please drop a review! I appreciate any criticism, thoughts, and suggestions.

 **Note to reviewers…**

 **Guest** (Feb 6): Thank you for your review. Hmm, Cell taking over a girl's body. That would have been interesting. Too late for that now.  
 **Wine** : Thank you.  
 **ChufoMaster** : Thanks! I appreciate it.  
 **Guerri** : No intention of stopping! I can't stand it when authors randomly stop their stories midway never to be updated again. That is not me! :)  
 **Smithback** : Hmm, Mito joining forces with the Z fighters to defeat Buu. Sounds like an interesting plot but totally different from my story. I don't know how convincingly I could pull that off haha.  
 **CrazyGohanGurl** : Thanks for your review. Whenever one is thinking, I try to italicize it. Does it now show up for you? Anybody not see the _italics_?


	5. The Return of Cell

**A/N** : Apologize for the delay. Thanks for all your favs, follows, and reviews. Note at bottom for reviewers!

Chapter 5: The Return of Cell

The thought of Gohan alive made Mito sick. He was designed to destroy them by the genius of Dr. Gero, yet somehow, he failed. Every day, he was reminded that Gohan was alive and well, content that Cell was dead. Little did he know, he was very much alive.

Over the past several weeks, Mito had learned very little and that made him angry. The whole reason he entered Orange Star High was to learn more about the young Saiyan and where he got his power. All he learned from the past several weeks was that Gohan was an awkward teenager content with Hercule Satan taking credit for his work, which was a disgrace. He also learned that Gohan played superhero and attempted to hide his powers from his friends. There was no indication of where he got his power.

One thing he did know, he was sick of waiting. If he was not to learn anymore, why wait to destroy the boy and all his friends?

* * *

Videl would be lying to herself if she didn't notice Gohan. The teenager was a fighter like her and not only that; his father was the world champion before her father. All the other girls in school thought Gohan was cute, while some would even say he was downright hot. Videl would never openly admit it, but he was handsome despite his quirkiness. If she were to ever openly admit that, _say to her best friend,_ she would never hear the end of it. Besides all that, the main reason she noticed him was that he didn't care that she was the daughter of the man who defeated Cell. Literally, every guy in the world saw that first and Videl Satan second.

She would be lying to herself if she said she didn't like fame that came with being the daughter of Hercule Satan. She had used that fame to start her career as a crime fighter. Although her father shaped her image, she found it refreshing and appealing that Gohan didn't see her from the perspective of her father's image. That is what made Gohan unique and stand out. One of the other reasons is that the boy is mysterious. How does a backwoods boy know Bulma Briefs, president of the largest company on Earth? _Oh, he is the son of Goku. Of course,_ she thought.

"Earth to Videl!?"

Videl quickly came back to reality after thinking of Gohan, _yet again._ "Yes?"

"What were you thinking about?" Erasa said with a smirk.

Videl rolled her eyes. If her best friend knew that she was thinking of Gohan, it would be disastrous for her. "Nothing."

"Uh huh, maybe I should say, _who_ were you thinking about?" said Erasa.

"Nerd boy, you okay?" Sharpner asked saving Videl from having to explain yet again that she was not thinking of anyone.

Gohan was also deep in thought when he was interrupted. "Y- Yeah."

The four were on their way out of the Orange Star High to end the school day. It had been one day since Mito spilled Gohan's secret, which made him feel uneasy. Thankfully for him, Videl didn't believe Mito and Gohan couldn't blame her. Mito had been nothing but rude to the four since his arrival. Gohan had come to no conclusions to why Mito would know so much about him. He decided to wait to seek out Piccolo or someone else about this situation. He wasn't convinced Mito was a threat, but that didn't mean he wasn't taking the whole situation lightly. He intended to speak with Mito about what he knew.

"Well, I'm going home," Sharpner said waving goodbye.

"Me too! I'll see you guys tomorrow!" Erasa said and then walked the other direction.

"You got any plans this afternoon?" Videl asked Gohan.

"Umm, not really."

"Great! Because I had a few questions I wanted to ask you."

Gohan suddenly became more nervous than just a few minutes ago. He knew that she was to ask his personal history after what had happened yesterday. After the whole incident with Mito, he had told Videl a little bit of his history as a fighter.

"About what?" asked Gohan.

Videl cleared her throat. "Well, exactly how strong are you as a fighter?"

Gohan frantically made hushing sounds as there were still a lot of kids flowing out of the front doors of OSH and he didn't want anybody to hear about his power.

"Umm, can we talk about this somewhere else?" Gohan whispered.

Videl raised an eyebrow. "Okay, sure."

"Like the park?" suggested Gohan.

"Fine by me."

The two teens walked over to Satan City Park, just five minutes away. Gohan was trying to think of what to say when Videl confronts him about his power. Should he be honest and tell the truth, possibly compromising any sense of normality he has built up at Orange Star high? Or should he withhold the truth?

Gohan knew that Videl (along with the rest of society) was so ingrained in Mr. Satan's lie that she wouldn't be able to comprehend his true power. Deciding not to push it and try to keep some semblance of normalcy, he decided to withhold the true extent of his power.

"So umm, what is it that you want to know again?" asked Gohan.

"How strong you are," Videl responded.

"Right."

He paused trying to think of what to say. "Well, my dad taught me some things, but I have never been in a tournament before, so I don't know how strong I am compared to someone like you."

"Well, why not find out?" she said confidently smirking.

"W- What?"

"You heard me Gohan. Let's have a spar."

Gohan's eyes enlarged at the idea of sparing with her. "We can't do that!"

"…and why not?"

"I need to be in my Gi, and we have to be somewhere else. What if someone sees us?"

Videl rolled her eyes. "Relax Gohan. Nobody is even at this park right now. Nobody can see us. Don't try to make up any excuses!"

"But…"

"No buts Gohan."

He sighed. There was no way of getting out of this one. He knew that she would be curious of his strength after their talk; however, he didn't think she'd force him to have a spar in the middle of the city of all places. Thankfully, the park was large and virtually disserted at this time.

Despite the size of the park, Gohan wasn't confident he could withhold enough power without hurting his friend. He decided that the best course of action would be to mainly defend rather than attack. Sighing, he nodded his head and got into a defensive position.

"Great! It will just be a minute or two. I just want to see how advanced you are," Videl happily said as she prepared herself to attack.

"If you say so," said an apprehensive Gohan.

"Here I come!" said Videl as she charged Gohan.

To Gohan, the speed of which Videl was charging him was utterly slow. However, he had to play it off like this was a tough match. Perhaps he would even let her get a hit on him.

Videl threw her first punch as hard as she could, but Gohan effortlessly caught it. She immediately attempted another punch anticipating hitting his body, but she felt nothing but air. Deciding on a change, she attempted a roundhouse kick only to it to be blocked by Gohan's arm.

Surprised by his speed and defense, Videl decided she had to get more physical; thus, she incredibly flipped over Gohan, so she was facing his back. Gohan was confused by this act but decided he would sense her instead of using his eyes. Videl grabbed Gohan and attempted to push him down, however, his body did not nudge.

"Uhh, what are you doing?" Gohan asked confused by this gesture.

"What does it look like you idiot! I'm trying to take you down!" she said while using all her strength trying to topple the young Saiyan.

Gohan was thankful that he was facing the other way because he was blushing quite intensely from the contact. For some reason, it just felt different when it was a girl trying to fight him, and he couldn't explain why.

Videl realized that her method was not working, however, only now did she realize how physical she was with her friend. She quickly realized that Gohan was built like a rock yet somehow his height allowed him to have a slender figure especially with his baggy clothes he wears every day. She blushed at the thought of how close she was. She broke her thoughts and once again realized that she had been basically hugging him from the back for way longer than necessary in a sparring match. She immediately let go, blushing profusely from the contact.

Gohan was using the few seconds he had to calm himself down. He couldn't explain it, but for some reason, having Videl _hug_ him from behind like that made him feel very embarrassed. He knew he would have to turn around and face Videl rather quickly. Deciding not to wait, he turned around to see her friend.

Videl immediately looked down quite embarrassed as she met Gohan's eyes. However, despite the awkwardness of it all, the physical touch somehow felt _right._ She couldn't explain it. Maybe it was because she detested all physical contact because mostly they were attempts by Sharpner to be _romantic_ or whatever.

"So umm, are we going to keep sparring?" asked Gohan as his blush subsided.

Videl couldn't quite get herself to look up. She was beginning to realize how insanely long she had been holding on to him "Umm, no I think I see how good you are now."

"Really?" Gohan asked. He didn't think Videl would be so easily swayed by their very brief spar.

"Yeah."

The two decided to go separate ways mostly because Videl needed to not be around Gohan for the foreseeable future. It's not that she didn't like him, yes, she very much did _like_ Son Gohan, it's just that she was beginning to realize that Gohan was very different from her other male friends. Somehow deep within her mind, she felt like that physical contact felt _right._ She didn't completely understand it, and perhaps it was the time she approached Erasa about Gohan. She rolled her eyes at how that conversation would go.

* * *

The next day went on as normal. Gohan and Videl did not speak of the embarrassing incident that occurred the day before. Actually, Gohan had entirely forgotten about the awkward situation; however, Videl could not. She just made sure not to bring it up with Gohan.

The day was ending, and Sharpner, Erasa, Videl and Gohan made their way out the front doors of Orange Star High. They hadn't spoken to Mito since a few days earlier when Mito made the _ridiculous_ assertion that Gohan was the one who finally defeated Cell.

"See you later guys!" Gohan said waving to his friends.

He turned toward the direction of Satan City Park where he sometimes walked toward so he could fly home without others noticing.

"Son Gohan."

At some distance away, Videl, Erasa, and Sharpner watched Gohan turn around toward the voice, which was none other than Mito. Videl frowned at the interaction. _Oh great, what does that weirdo want now,_ she thought.

"The time is now."

Gohan stared the mysterious teenager, slightly concerned what he had in mind. "What do you mean Mito?"

" _Tsk Tsk_ , you haven't the slightest clue, huh?"

Gohan stared at him confused to what he was referring to. "Umm, what are you talking about?"

Mito smirked. "Even Vegeta and Piccolo picked up on it."

Gohan's face drained at the mention of those two, and his eyes widened. "W- What- How do you know them?"

"My my young Gohan, you have really let yourself go. I guess destroying you will be easier than I anticipated," Mito said with a smirk.

Videl left Sharpner and Erasa and walked up to Mito and Gohan. "Mito, stop pestering Gohan," she said irritated.

Mito chuckled. "Ah, Videl Satan. It's about time you learn the truth."

Videl rolled her eyes knowing what Mito would talk about. She had heard it several times now how Mito thought that her father was a phony.

"I don't care what you have to say Mito. Get lost," she said as her eyes narrowed.

Mito smirked. "Guess both you and Gohan will be learning a lot," he said turning to Gohan.

"W- What are you saying?" Gohan asked as his eyes widened.

"It will be your turn first Gohan. Now feel my power rise," Mito said smirking.

Suddenly, Gohan felt a wave of fear through his body. Although Mito's power was tiny, yet still noticeably stronger than other humans, he just insinuated that his power could increase, which is something Gohan didn't consider. Gohan immediately locked on to his Ki, and his eyes widened at his power. It was growing.

At this point, it was still weak; however, it appeared to be getting stronger. Gohan's eyes continued to widen as Mito's power now exponentially increased. Mito smirked as he could tell Gohan was fearful. Suddenly, the wind around the area started to increase causing Videl to step back.

"You see Gohan? I can keep this going," Mito said enjoying every moment of seeing Gohan becoming more anxious.

"B- But how? W- Where did you come from?" Gohan stuttered.

By now, Mito was visibly emitting Ki from his body while Videl and several feet back from her, Erasa and Sharpner stare in shock. Gohan continued to stay locked on to Mito's Ki. Somehow, his Ki seemed to have some familiarity to it, yet he couldn't place it. It almost seemed like Cell; however, Gohan knew that Ki signatures were distinct and that this was indeed not Cell's energy.

His power continued to increase. By now, his power was significantly stronger than Frieza's final form back on Namek. At this point, Mito knew that Vegeta and Piccolo along with some others were on their way toward him. He was aware that they would come and that is exactly what he desired. The time was now for him to make his appearance and it was also time for Earth's end. However, he would have a little fun with it before destroying the planet and all the humans. His power leveled off far from his maximum, but enough to prove to Gohan that he was indeed powerful. His power was now equivalent to himself when he started the Cell Games.

"Ahh, is that _fear_ I see Gohan?" asked Mito as he smirked.

"I- I-" Gohan was at a loss of words; however, reality set in really quickly.

Mito was a serious threat, however, according to Gohan, if that were close to his max power, he would likely be able to handle him. If not him, then Vegeta most certainly would be powerful enough to defeat Mito. Suddenly, Gohan regretted not training for much of the past several years. It was only recently when Gohan started training rigorously mostly because of Piccolo's warning. Was this what Piccolo was referring to in his _dark vision_?

Gohan looked around at his surroundings. There were a bunch of students staring at the situation because of Cell's release of energy while powering up, which caused a lot of wind. He looked at Videl who was standing close by right behind him. He looked toward his right and saw Erasa and Sharpner not far. This was a horrible situation, and he could tell that Mito wanted to fight. Whatever happened, he had to keep Videl safe. Suddenly, the idea of protecting Videl meant so much to him. _What would father do?_

"Who are you? Tell me now!" yelled Gohan as his confidence was coming back.

" _My my_ Gohan, I'm sure your dear mother wouldn't approve of your rudeness," Mito intimidated.

 _This is a nightmare of a situation. If we fight here, a lot of people will die!_ Gohan thought. He could see the look in Mito's eyes. He craved a fight.

"So what is it? You want to fight, _to the death?"_ suggested Gohan.

He could sense the darkness of his Ki. Gohan had seen it many times before whether it be Frieza and his henchmen, King Cold, or his dear uncle Raditz, he knew that Mito was pure evil. The question remained, why did Mito seek him out? What _exactly_ is his history?

"You will know soon Son Gohan. In the meantime, how about this?" Mito said, but before Gohan could even ask what he was referring to, a fist landed itself into his face, sending Gohan flying into a nearby building destroying it on impact.

Mito smirked at the damage caused and the screams from the humans. Many of the OSH students ran in the other direction realizing that their lives were in danger. In fact, several students probably just died at the impact of Gohan's body in the building.

Videl was in disbelief at what had just happened. Gohan was there just a second ago, and next thing she knew, he was gone, and a building had collapsed. Videl was barely able to make out the blur, but to her, it appeared that Mito attacked him with incredible force and sent him into the building. Videl assumed that Gohan was dead.

"You!" Videl yelled angrily as tears filled her eyes.

"Yes Videl Satan? Don't worry, I'll get to you real soon," Mito said with a smirk.

"You killed him!" She screamed as her jaw clenched.

Mito ignored her and stared into the rubble of the building. By now, everybody had vacated OSH except Videl, Erasa, and Sharpner.

"Come on Videl! Let's go!" Sharpner yelled at her friend seeing the imminent danger.

Ignoring Sharpner, Videl was fuming. "You'll pay for that!" A tear made its way down her face. The emotions of anger and sadness filled her body simultaneously.

She charged Mito and threw several punches as fast as he could. They all made contact; however, they did not affect him. Videl then attempted a roundhouse kick to his face; however, Mito easily dodged it. Videl jumped back thinking of her next move. She was in shock that none of her attacks had an effect. She remembered sparring with him before, but this seemed different.

"Come now Satan girl, do you really think you stand a chance?" asked Mito as he continued to stare into the rubble.

She realized that he was correct. If she couldn't defeat him, who could? Her father? She stared in the direction Mito was looking toward. Then suddenly, a figure pierced through the rubble toward the sky. The figure floated quite some distance above the ground then gently landed back toward the ground. Once landed, Videl, Sharpner, and Erasa were in shock to see that their friend could fly. Although completely flabbergasted, Videl was immediately thankful that her friend was alive.

"Ahh, Gohan, glad to see you are okay," Mito sarcastically said.

Gohan was a bit ruffed up with rips in his school clothes and cuts to his body. The punch had come so fast; thus he didn't anticipate it. The last time someone had hit him so hard was during the Cell Games. He looked around to see the building destroyed from his impact. He heard sirens in the distance, which meant the police were coming to investigate.

"You'll pay for those that you just killed," Gohan said in a menacing voice.

"Ahh but Gohan, it was, in fact, your body that did the killing," Mito said with a smirk.

 _He's right. If I had been paying more attention, I wouldn't have ended up in the building and it wouldn't have collapsed. I had better end this now,_ thought Gohan as his eyes narrowed.

"That won't work on me Mito."

Suddenly, Gohan powered up transforming into a Super Saiyan shocking Gohan's friends. "This is it for you Mito. I won't make the same mistakes I made as a child!"

Mito smirked, "Ahh there it is. The legendary transformation into a super Saiyan. Unfortunately, this is just the beginning. For now, I'll have to demonstrate my power so when the others come, they know what they are dealing with. I _apologize_ in advanced Gohan."

 _Wait, so he's the gold fighter!?_ Videl thought completely surprised.

Without warning, Mito disappeared out of thin air. Without having time to react, Gohan felt an incredible amount of pain in his abdomen. He saw Mito jam his first into his stomach. Gohan keeled over in pain. Ignoring his pain, Gohan attempted to throw a punch toward Mito's face; however, he easily dodged it. Next, Mito kneed Gohan in the already sore stomach.

"How does it feel Gohan? I have been waiting a long time for this," Mito jabbed.

Gohan gathered energy toward his hands preparing for a Ki blast. He quickly released it toward Mito; however, Mito dodged it and jumped back, and the blast continued toward the sky. Gohan grabbed his stomach.

"Ahh Gohan, it pleasures me to no end to see this," Mito explained.

Videl was in shock at the whole situation. She wanted to do something, but she knew she wouldn't stand a chance. It appeared that Gohan would have a better chance than she would seeing that he somehow knew to perform these _tricks._

"Gohan!" She yelled as she could see he was in a lot of pain.

Gohan looked up to her. "Run!"

"No," was all Mito had to say.

"Now Videl!" Gohan yelled, "Don't look back!"

Mito frowned. "Her very father is part of history. She stays here."

Gohan's expression transformed into complete shock at the revelation. Was it possible? Was Mito somehow linked to Cell? It didn't make any sense. While attempted to rationalize this, Mito's knee made contact with his stomach once more at a much stronger force than before. Gohan coughed up blood from the impact. Mito smirked as he removed his knee from his stomach while Gohan collapsed to the ground.

"This is just too easy," Mito explained.

"You won't get away with this! My father will…" Videl started to say but was interrupted by Mito.

"Your father won't do anything. Clearly, you are a delusional girl," Mito explained as he looked up into the sky. "Looks like we have company."

Videl looked up into the sky and saw two figures approaching quickly, just like that one time at the park. The two figures quickly landed nearby her and Gohan. Videl recognized the two from before when they landed in the park about a week ago. The two stared in shock as they saw Gohan on the ground with blood everywhere. He was still transformed in a super Saiyan however he appeared to be down for the count.

"Ahh, the Saiyan Prince and the Namkeian Warrior. Welcome," said Mito.

"Who are you," Piccolo asked wasting no time. It was evident this was the power he'd been sensing.

"We'll get to that," Mito explained.

"What a disgrace. The son of Kakarot being done in by a _mere_ human," Vegeta sneered.

"I don't think he's a human," suggested Piccolo.

"It would be nice to know who you are and where you come from before you are destroyed," Vegeta said smirking.

"Cocky till the end Prince Vegeta," Mito explained.

"Tell us now!" Vegeta demanded as his eyes narrowed.

Suddenly, three others landed. Goten stared in shock as he saw his brother on the ground with blood everywhere. Tears were beginning to form in his eyes. Trunks and Krillin also trying to understand what was happening.

"Child, what are you doing here with Kakarot's youngest?" Vegeta demanded.

"I tried to stop them before they got here," Krillin added as he was out of breath from chasing two mini super Saiyans.

"What's this? Goku had another son?" Mito questioned. _This is just too perfect._

"So who's this guy?" Krillin's forehead furrowed.

"…And Krillin, one of the few humans that has significant power, welcome! Welcome all of you! I'm so glad to see so many familiar faces!" Mito sarcastically said.

Ignoring Mito's snide remarks, Vegeta immediately turned to Trunks and Goten. "I demand that you two leave immediately."

"Big Brother!" Goten yelled ignoring Vegeta and running toward Gohan as tears flowed from his eyes. He quickly embraced his brother in a hug ignoring the blood that stained his clothes.

Gohan smiled slightly as he was trying to recover from the devastating blows Mito had inflicted just moments ago. Attempting to show everyone that he was alright, he tried to sit in an upright position wiping his blood from his face. His abdomen was incredibly painful from the back-to-back blows. He patted his brother on the head showing him that he would live despite the injuries sustained.

"Glad to see you are _alive_ Gohan. My revenge deserves much longer than your pathetic fight," Mito explained as he got in a defensive position.

Videl, on the other hand, was dazed by the spectacle that was ongoing. Not only did she learn that her geeky friend Gohan was none other than the Gold Fighter and the delivery boy, several of the warriors who used tricks at the Cell Games arrived seemingly out of nowhere. She had so many questions on her mind but she also realized the seriousness of the situation. Gohan had almost died according to her, and she was surprised to see him sitting upright despite being a building toppling on him.

With an adrenaline rush, Gohan managed to get up to his feet. He spit out blood from his mouth as he turned his attention toward Mito. "You've made your point _Mito_. Now tell us who you are!"

"Hmm, much more serious these days Son Gohan. Very well," Mito said as he got into a defensive position.

Vegeta, Piccolo, Gohan and the other also prepared for an attack. Gohan was in no condition to be fighting, but he has had much worse. It's just been a while since he's felt this sort of pain. Mito began powering up, yelling as Ki was released from his body creating gusts of wind around the warriors. Suddenly, a golden aura surrounded Mito, which signified the possibility of Saiyan energy.

Piccolo could not believe what he was witnessing. This was clearly the same dark power he had visions about and had sensed the past several weeks. He could tell the Ki signature was closely aligned with Cell's. It was dark and maniacal. By now, Mito's Ki had reached new levels and seemed limitless. Meanwhile, Krillin stood in fear as he sensed this new enemy. Never before had he witnessed so much power, not even at the Cell games. One thing the group knew was that this new enemy was going to prove even more challenging than in the past.

Gohan realized that the power used to defeat him was a fraction of Mito's full power. Gohan watched in horror. Oh how he wished his father was still alive. If Gohan was caught off guard just moments before when Mito's power was significantly less, how would he ever defeat him? He was aware his super Saiyan 2 transformation would be helpful, but he wasn't sure it would be enough.

Suddenly, in Mito's final release of energy, something bizarre occurred. Mito's body begun to form weird shapes and bulges. Nobody could understand what was about to happen. Within a second, Mito's body exploded scattering what was left of the teenaged body away from Mito's true self. The warriors closed their eyes at the disgusting explosion, but when they opened their eyes, there was nothing to prepare them for what they saw next.

There were no words. Nothing could describe the shock one very ones face. There, stood Cell, or someone who looked just like the monster.

"N- No. It can't be," stuttered Gohan. He collapsed on his knees. He had failed. After seven long years of peace with the belief that Cell was dead, somehow, the monster was alive.

"Ahh, it's wonderful to be out of that stupid teenaged body," Cell said.

"B- But M- Mito," Videl said in disbelief. Mito was there a minute ago and next thing she knew, she was looking at Cell.

"H- How?" asked Vegeta.

"C- Cell?" Gohan stuttered.

Mito, or now Cell, looked at his body. It was sore from being cramped into a teenaged boy; however, the thought of revenge ultimately overtook any soreness. Oh, how he'd miss his perfect being. Today was going to be the start of a magnificent future. He would dispose of the warriors in front of him then destroy the earth. He had much greater plans, but before that, he had to give Earth his attention. Afterall, this was where he was created. Oh, how he missed the look of fear on humans' faces. This was just too perfect.

"Ah, Son Gohan, the one who defeated me seven years ago. I'm back and stronger than ever _as you can tell,"_ Cell explained smirking as he turned his body to the back of Gohan and the others. "Look at this city. Untouched. How quaint."

"B- But you can't be alive," stuttered Gohan.

"Hmm, it seems you are wrong. Here I am. And, I must say, I was able to learn a lot about you as Mito. Want to hear how I did it?"

The warriors stayed silent unsure how to deal with this situation. Goku was dead. Trunks was in the future. The only two warriors that had any chance were Vegeta and Gohan. Piccolo most certainly couldn't defeat Cell. Goten and Trunks were too young. The human warriors were certainly no match. Their chances didn't seem good right about now.

Taking their silence as a yes, Cell turned back toward them and continued, "In Hell, _which might I add_ is a very unpleasant place, Frieza and I have been training and have achieved new levels of power. Somehow, a wormhole was created from one dimension to another. Desperately wanting to leave Hell, I jumped in with no hesitation. Next thing I knew, I was on Earth. I couldn't contain my excitement. Yes, a chance to take revenge! And that is exactly what I plan to do!"

"B- but my father defeated you! There is no way you can be alive!" Videl explained.

Cell began chuckling. "You still believe that Satan? Your father was pathetically weak compared to Son Gohan here. You see girl, I took _mercy_ on your father and let him live. The real challenge that day was Son Goku and unexpectedly, Son Gohan," he said as his smirk deepened.

"B- But that's not possible! My fath-" Videl began explaining but was interrupted. Even in the face of _truth_ , she couldn't quite pull away from her father's lie.

"Silence girl. Your father, you, and the rest of your friends will die! And I will do what I should have done seven years ago, kill Son Gohan! _Nobody_ can stop me!"

"Cell!" Vegeta yelled as he smirked, "you aren't the only the only one who has trained the past seven years straight. If you think you'll be able to defeat me, you are sadly mistaken."

Cell could not contain his laughter. "We'll see about that Prince Vegeta. How shall we celebrate my return?"

The warriors stood in silence wondering what Cell was planning. Meanwhile, Videl was unable to believe Cell's assertion regarding her father and Gohan. She reasoned that Cell must have been delirious when her father defeated him. Her father promised that he was the one to defeat Cell. There were eyewitnesses that could vouch for that. Why was it that Cell was so adamant that Gohan was the one that defeated him? She deduced that Gohan must have been the delivery boy that was at the Cell games. It was just too much to handle and comprehend right now. One thing she did know, her father would have to once again _defeat_ Cell.

"Hmm, I got it!" Cell explained as walked a little closer toward the group of warriors smirking. "In three days, there will be, _you guessed it_ , another Cell Games. I will call this the Cell Games 2, and it will take place where it was held before. It will be the same rules as last time. You may look forward to your news for more information."

The group of warriors stood there flabbergasted. What were they to do now? They had even less time to prepare than the last Cell Games.

"Oh and Videl Satan, I _do_ expect your father to be there," Cell said smirking. "Until next time!"

Cell gave one last smirk directed to Son Gohan and then lifted his body flying away off into the horizon.

 **A/N** : Oh crap, things don't look good for Gohan and his friends/family. Any suggestions are much appreciated. I will update Burden of Lies soonish, so no worries if you are reading that one too.

 **Note to reviewers…**

 **Strawberry Cat** : Appreciate your kind words.  
 **Mtmt9887** : Thanks!  
 **Sammael Sin** : Cell is back in his original form. So about their _friendship,_ hmm. We'll see in the coming chapters. Thanks for your review.  
 **Wine** : Appreciate your review.  
 **ChufoMaster** : Thank you! Always appreciate your reviews! They keep me going!  
 **JustSaiyan123** : Sorry for the long delay! I appreciate your review! Thank you so much for reading and your kind words!  
 **CrazyGohanGurl** : Thanks! Hope you liked this update!  
 **warriorofdark** : Thanks, hope you liked this update.  
 **Yunayuu** : Things will be incredibly difficult for Gohan even in the upcoming chapters. Appreciate your review!  
 **Gokuu the carrot** : Thanks! Hopefully things will continue to be 'good.' Your review is really appreciated.  
 **RainGain** : Hmm, sorry for taking so long to answer your question. I didn't think to add any more villains but that is an interesting proposition. One of the amazing things about writing fanfiction is the spontaneous change in the story when one is writing. Although, the writer should have a clear vision for the story, it's those new ideas that form that make stories interesting! I may consider your idea! Appreciate the comment and thanks for reading!


	6. Mr Satan Dilemma

**A/N** : Deepest apologies for taking six months to update. I hope that I still have readers. Thank you so much for the PMs, reviews, favs, and follows over the past six months. Longer explanation at bottom.

Chapter 6: Mr. Satan's Dilemma

Gohan sat on the ground, completely in shock at what had just transpired. His mouth gaped open as so many emotions filled his mind while he completely ignored the physical pain. The last twenty minutes or so caused him almost be in a daze; however, he knew now was not the time for this. His father would immediately jump into action to create some sort of plan, but the thought of doing that just seemed impossible at the moment.

Videl was also just as shaken as Gohan. Not only had Mito, but the person she grew to despise was also in fact Cell, she had witnessed Son Gohan, her dorky classmate, somehow transform into the Gold Fighter and take on Cell alone. Also, several people from the first Cell Games appeared seemingly out of nowhere when the crisis occurred. During it, Cell injured Gohan so badly she thought he'd died, but miraculously, somehow, he seemed alive and well. An _entire_ building collapsed on him, yet he appeared to be fine. Sure, he was scratched up and had some blood running down his face, but he was alive.

None of it made any sense, and despite her shock, Videl wanted, no _demanded_ answers. Her father killed Cell years ago. That she was certain of but how was it that Gohan was the 'Delivery Boy'? Cell made it appear as if he came back from the dead, but that was impossible. None of this made any sense. Even in the face of Cell's return, she couldn't accept anything less than the defeat of Cell by her father.

Piccolo, Vegeta, Krillin, and the two boys, Trunks and Goten, also stood in disbelief at what had happened. Cell had returned and seemed to thrash Gohan. The timing of this couldn't have been worse because Goku no longer was with them and the powerful adult Trunks had returned to the future. How were they to create a successful plan to defeat Cell without their beloved Goku?

"Figures," Vegeta scoffed with a scowl breaking the silence. "This is why I always said we have to be prepared."

Videl looked in the direction of the Saiyan Prince. She recognized him from before when Mito showed her his power not long ago along with the green alien. Gohan affiliates with these _tricksters_ or that's what her father called them, and she was tired of being left in the dark.

"Big brother, are you alright?" Goten asked as he dried his tears.

Gohan turned to his beloved brother. "Yeah, just a bit shaken up."

Piccolo turned toward Gohan. "Vegeta's correct. We better get you a senzu bean back at the lookout and somehow devise a plan."

Gohan looked up to his master nodding his head. Vegeta meanwhile didn't know what to feel. He had spent the past six years vigorously training to distract him of his rival's death; but suddenly, that training seemed to have more purpose now. Sure, he was pumped to show Cell once and for all, his superior first class Saiyan strength, but for some reason, the feeling just wasn't the same as it was six years ago. Something about it this time made him uneasy, perhaps because he had a family to defend. He grunted at the fact that his emotions may be affecting his judgment.

"Let's go," said Piccolo.

"We are coming too," Trunks and Goten said in unison.

Gohan looked toward Vegeta and Piccolo for advice regarding Goten and Trunks. Sure, the boys would be safer with them, but perhaps they should return to Capsule Corporation to inform Bulma what had transpired. A seven and eight year old should not be forced into this battle. However, he didn't trust Cell this time around to go through with the Cell Games 2. Gohan believed that Cell had learned from his past mistakes and could potentially be leading him and his friends into a trap with the Cell Games 2. Cell was smart, and nobody should underestimate him.

"Absolutely not! I demand you return to your mother instantly!" protested Vegeta.

Trunks was not going to back down. "No, we want to help too!"

Vegeta's eyes narrowed, instilling fear in young Trunks. He didn't dare backtalk to his father; however, given the circumstances, Trunks believed he could help make a difference. He had grown up hearing about the stories of Frieza and Cell, and this time he would be alongside his father and Gohan, defending the Earth.

"Yeah! We can help," Goten defended.

Vegeta spat on the ground. "Nonsense. You two are no match against Cell. This is an adult job. Go home."

Trunks and Goten turned toward one another, smirked at each other and nodded their heads. Out of nowhere, the two released an enormous amount of ki, transforming into the legendary super Saiyan as if it was nothing to them. The shock on everyone's face was an understatement. Nobody saw it coming.

"See? We can help!" Trunks said confidently.

Vegeta's eyes enlarged in confusion. "W- What? My son. A Super Saiyan?"

Gohan was equally astounded as he stared at his little brother. "Go- Goten? How? When did this happen?"

Krillin gasped at the boy's power which was far stronger than his. How did he fall so far behind these Saiyans. Would he be of any help for this new threat now?

"We're going!" Trunks affirmed, and it appeared that he and Goten had the power to back up his assertions.

"We're wasting time," said Piccolo despite his shock at the boy's power. Perhaps they could be of some use but to put a seven and eight year old on the battlefield, just didn't sit well with him. This was not the old days when Gohan was one of the few that could equal his power.

"You kept this from me son?" Vegeta slowly asked. Trunks shuttered at his father's question, looking for his best friend for support, while Goten looked at his big brother.

"I wanted to surprise you big brother, but I was afraid mom would be mad," Goten admitted.

"Yeah, I was afraid you'd be mad at me dad," explained Trunks.

Vegeta narrowed his eyes at his son. Where did he find the time to train and earn this power? Hadn't he been with him every step of the way? Clearly, he had outside training because he should have seen this coming. Was it possible that the two boys trained together, gaining strength he could only dream of at that age?

Piccolo cleared his throat. "We can talk about this later. Let's get to the lookout immediately."

Vegeta nodded his head. He most certainly would have a discussion with his son about hiding his power from him, but there was no hiding the fact that he was proud of his son. His eight year old son, a first-class prince, transformed into a super Saiyan. Incredible.

Meanwhile, Videl shook her head both in shock but also not wanting to give up this opportunity to get an understanding of what was going on. Now there were two little gold fighters, and none of it made sense. Her eyes flashed in distrust. Who the heck was her nerdy classmate, Son Gohan?

"No. Gohan, you will tell me what on earth is going on right now," demanded Videl.

She was tired of being left in the dark. Not only did she witness several deaths from her fellow schoolmates, but she also found out she hardly knows her _friend,_ Son Gohan. She wasn't about to let him go without hearing something.

Gohan scratched the back of his head. "Umm, Videl, I promise I'll tell you everything later, but can't you see something more important is going on here?"

Her eyes narrowed. "No Gohan. You know what the Cell Games mean to me considering my father, and you kept the fact that you were the 'Delivery Boy' from me? I want answers, and I _want_ them now."

Gohan sighed. While her building friendship with Videl meant a lot to him, the world was in grave danger, and those answers for Videl would have to wait. Unfortunately, he would have to leave and hoped that Videl would understand, maybe one day. For now, it seemed like Videl would never talk to him unless he explained everything, which was not an option at the moment.

"I'm sorry, but I can't. I promise I'll tell you soon, but we have to go," Gohan tried to explain; however, Videl became furious at the answer.

"Can you fly?" asked Piccolo.

"Yeah, I think so," Gohan concluded and lifted his injured body off the ground.

He gave Videl one last glimpse and could see her fury at being left out. Gohan's eyes drooped at the fact that Videl might never forgive him. Her classmate, no friend, who was so incredibly brave and selfless, unlike her father, hopefully, would understand his decision one day.

Piccolo followed Gohan, and then Vegeta, Trunks, Goten, and Krillin followed shortly after leaving Videl, Sharpner, and Erasa watching them fly off into the horizon. The Z-Senshi needed to come up with a plan quickly. Cell only gave them three days.

Meanwhile, Videl collapsed to her knees, partially in anger, but also in distrust in Son Gohan. The whole situation seemed bleak at best. After six years of peace, it appeared that Cell returned. Despite the truth staring her right in the face, she believed her father was the one to defeat Cell notwithstanding Mito's absurd statements that somehow Gohan was the one that best him six years ago. Was there any truth to that? _No, my father would not lie. It's not in his nature. He's the world's greatest hero,_ she confirmed.

Erasa and Sharpner ran over to their friend. The area was vacant of any people as they had all scattered once a few buildings near Orange Star High had collapsed after Gohan pummeled into them. How was it that anybody could survive that? Erasa, Sharpner, and Videl were kept asking themselves how? The only person who had witnessed this before was Videl's father.

Yes, she would definitely have a discussion with her father because those _tricks_ as he called them, didn't appear to be any tricks she had ever seen. Everything was so real, and she knows her eyes don't lie. Somehow, she had to gather the will to go back home, warn her father so he could get prepared for the Cell Games 2. This time around, she would be there despite how terrifying that thought was.

"Videl are you okay?" asked Erasa as she crouched down to Videl.

"No. Does it look like I'm okay? Cell is back from the dead, several Orange Star students are dead, and I found out Gohan was the Delivery Boy at the Cell Games and he completely ignored me and flew away with his _friends,_ " she said in frustration.

"Oh my god. It's absolutely insane. I know, but we got to get out of here, it's not safe here," said Erasa.

Sharpner shook his head. "This has to be a nightmare. I have got to wake up from this!"

* * *

Meanwhile, Gohan and the crew landed on Kami's Lookout while Dende ran out toward them.

"I could feel it below. It was Cell, wasn't it?" asked Dende. The fear in his voice was evident.

Piccolo nodded. "Yes, it appears this was the vision I had so many weeks ago had some truth to it. He's back, and we need to come up with a plan and quickly. We have three days." The atmosphere was certainly bleak at the moment.

"Here Gohan. Relax, let me heal you," Dende said while Gohan sat down on the ground.

"Thanks Dende," he said meekly smiling.

What was he to do now? He couldn't defeat Cell in his current state. He didn't even know if he still could transform into the ascendant super Saiyan as he barely defeated him last time using that power. He suspected he was quite a bit weaker than six years ago and he cursed at himself for being too relaxed since his defeat of Cell. Vegeta was right. He wondered what his father would think of his weak self now.

He needed his father. The only way he defeated Cell last time was through the support of his father, and he doubt he could fill those shoes. He wondered if his father could sense what was occurring on Earth right now or was he in the dark? Surely King Kai would be aware of the situation on Earth?

"What I want to know is how that monster managed to get back! What wormhole was he talking about?" asked Krillin breaking the silence.

Piccolo shrugged. The only method to return to the living world was through a very select few beings. A wormhole? It made no sense, and as the former Guardian of Earth, he thought the Kais should be aware of such a method. It didn't matter. Only one thing that mattered at this point was defeating Cell and protecting Earth.

"Well what do we do?" asked Krillin.

"What are you blabbering about Baldy? We have three days. That's enough time to train in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber and destroy Cell. That's the only logical solution," sneered Vegeta.

Krillin eyes narrowed. "You know Vegeta, I have hair now."

"Gohan, how do you feel right now? Do you think you can take on Cell again?" asked Piccolo.

Gohan looked up to his mentor. "Do I even have a choice?" He sighed and looked back to his friends and family. "I admit, he caught me off guard, and it's hard to judge how much more powerful he's become, but what Vegeta says does make sense."

Vegeta nodded his head. "Of course it does. That's the only solution. You should have kept up with your training Halfling," he sneered. Anything to take a jab at his rival's son.

Despite the insult at him, he knew Vegeta to be truthful. Yes, he should have maintained his training. He hoped that he could make strides in his training in the hyperbolic time chamber over the next few Earth days.

"There's only one problem. You, Vegeta and I have already used up a significant portion of our allotted time in the Chamber. If you exceed 48 earth hours, the door shuts forever," warned Piccolo.

Gohan looked down toward the ground. Yes, that presented a problem. He had forgotten about that small detail. He had used almost 24 hours and both Vegeta and Piccolo were close to their 48-hour mark from their previous training for the first Cell Games. He needed Vegeta and Piccolo to be prepared as backups if he failed. There was no daddy to bail him out this time if he made mistakes.

Piccolo stepped forward. "But we still have a chunk of time and Gohan you have the most. We should take advantage of that."

The group of warriors contemplated their next move as time was of the essence. Gohan thought back to Videl and felt a tinge of regret leaving her there with Erasa and Sharpner but what was he supposed to do? He couldn't sit down and explain everything given the circumstances they were in. He sighed at the thought of his _friend._

* * *

Breaking news reports indicated that several Orange Star students died in the collapse of buildings. There were even rumors around that an evil person that had the capability of _tricks_ as Mr. Satan had described was responsible for it. There was even a rumor circulating that a few Orange Star Students and Videl Satan were involved in the fight.

Hercule Satan picked up the phone and called her daughter once more, but there was no answer. He desperately wanted to know the whereabouts of her daughter considering the situation at Orange Star High School.

"What are you waiting for?" yelled Mr. Satan. "Get another team together and find my daughter!"

"Y- Yes Sir," stuttered Mr. Satan's butler.

"My daughter could be hurt or worse yet, she could be… NO. I refuse to believe that. I had better hear good news from your team," Mr. Satan asserted.

"Of course Mr. Satan; but, we are doing the best we can. I doubt she's hurt. She's the daughter of the defeater of Cell after all!" the butler explained.

His reassurance didn't help at all. Despite his assertion, Mr. Satan knew the truth. He was no defeater of Cell, and while he was powerful, her daughter was only human. Of course, he was supposed to be worried. He cursed at himself for letting her daughter do the reckless things she does with the police force. He would find out who was responsible for this and make them pay.

Meanwhile, Videl landed her copter in her back lawn area, ready to alert her father. She still thought this was some crazy dream and that she would wake up, but reality was setting in. This was no nightmare. This was real, and she needed to alert her father immediately.

"Are you going to talk to your dad now?" stammered Erasa as she exited Videl's copter, while Sharpner followed after her.

"Yes," responded Videl.

Just hearing that helped relieve Sharpner and Erasa's anxiety levels, but just a little. They had witnessed just how powerful Cell really was and even they suddenly doubted Mr. Satan's ability. How could Hercule defeat Cell considering that he is only human? Those were not _tricks,_ and both Erasa and Sharpner didn't see how anyone could believe that after what they'd witnessed. Despite the doubt, they were still firm believers of Mr. Satan's feat of defeating Cell all those years ago.

Videl hurried into her back door followed by Erasa and Sharpner. Once inside, they heard some yelling down the hall.

"Why haven't I heard anything yet?" Mr. Satan demanded while pounding his foot on the ground.

Videl immediately ran toward her father. Upon rounding the corner into her dad's office.

"Dad?"

Mr. Satan immediately turned around at hearing her daughter's voice. Upon seeing her well, he quickly embraced her in a tight hug. His anxiety level had calmed down at seeing her daughter alive and well.

"I was so worried about you! I'm so glad you're safe!" said Hercule.

"It's okay dad, I'm alright, but we have got to talk," explained Videl in a serious tone.

Ignoring her daughter, he said, "Why haven't you picked up your phone? I've heard the news, and you should have immediately called me."

Videl's blinked in confusion. Yes, she had lost her phone after the skirmish with Cell and Gohan but didn't matter at all. What mattered was telling her father that Cell had returned.

"And you left your dad so worried," squealed Mr. Satan.

"Dad."

"How can you let your father be in the dark?"

"DAD!" she yelled getting his attention.

"Um, what is it?"

"We need to talk. Now!" Videl demanded.

"What? Yeah sure," he said confused.

Videl looked at Mr. Satan's butler. "May you excuse us please?"

"Why certainly Ms. Satan," the butler said as he removed himself from the room.

Mr. Satan cleared his throat. "Umm, should your friends hear us talk?"

"Yeah, they were there for it," Videl eluded.

"Umm alright. What is it? And don't think we won't talk about you not answering my calls," scolded Mr. Satan.

Videl narrowed her eyes and spoke in a very serious tone. "Dad. Cell is back. He was responsible for the collapse of those buildings."

Mr. Satan knew her daughter very well. She was loyal, strong, beautiful, and most of all, when she was serious, she would not joke around. His heart sunk at hearing of Cell's return and a wave of anxiety, no a tsunami of anxiety went through his body. His daughter was not joking.

"…And he said he is expecting you at the Cell Games 2."

Mr. Satan's eyes widened, and a distinct look of fear was plastered on his face. Sweat immediately began to build on his face and back at hearing this. This was not the reaction Videl nor Erasa, and Sharpner thought or hoped they'd see. This was not the look of a confident, strong fighter. Videl looked her father peculiarly.

"Dad. You have to do it again. You have to defeat him."

"W- What? T- That's impossible!" stuttered an incredibly anxious Mr. Satan.

"No, dad. It's true. Somehow, Cell was disguised as a student at Orange Star High. It's such a long story, but he enrolled under the name of Mito and looked like a normal teenager. He had this grudge against me for some reason and had an even bigger grudge against one of my other friends, Gohan."

Mr. Satan's eyes widened again. Gohan. Why did that name sound so familiar to him? He pondered that for a few seconds then suddenly, he remembered. The memories of the Cell Games flooded his mind. The name Gohan was said multiple times at the during the games. He remembered, the blonde kid, had to have been named Gohan because so many people yelled his name during the games.

"Umm sweetie, w- who is this G- Gohan?" he stuttered.

Videl's eyes narrowed. Why would he want to know about Gohan so quickly? Should he be asking more about Cell? _Dad must have remembered his name from the Cell Games as he was the Delivery Boy,_ she thought.

"Dad, he's a friend, who also arrived at school. Well, he might not be my friend anymore as I found out he was the Delivery Boy and lying to me all this time," she responded.

"Oh," was all he said.

Sharpner interjected. "Mr. Satan. You'll defeat him. I know you will. You're the world champ after all," he said proudly.

That didn't help one bit. Yes, he was the current reigning champion; however, none of that mattered. He didn't defeat Cell, the Delivery Boy, or Gohan did. Somehow, that boy had entered the same school as his daughter unbeknownst to him, and Cell followed him there. Yes, he was a little angry, but more importantly, he was about to witness his whole world crash beneath him. What would his daughter think? The anxiety left a tight knot in his stomach.

"Dad? What's wrong? You have to get ready. Cell said he was going to have another Cell Games, called the Cell Games 2, and he demanded your presence," Videl explained.

 _My life, it's over,_ thought Mr. Satan as he was sweating bullets. What could he do? The only people he could depend on was the Delivery Boy and those _tricksters._ He sighed. There was no point in calling them tricksters anymore.

"May I have your attention!"

Suddenly, the TV was blasting volume in Mr. Satan's office. The four immediately turned toward the TV in Mr Satan's office. Their worst nightmare was confirmed. Cell was on live TV, so now the entire world could watch.

"I don't get paid enough for this!" the anchorwoman screamed as she ran for her life while on the camera.

"Well, thank you for that. Anyway, I'm sure so many of you are glad to see me on the screen again. No, this is not your imagination. I, Perfect Cell, am back," said a confident smirking Cell. The camera was shaky as it zoomed in on the maniacal creature, Cell.

Mr. Satan, Videl, Sharpner, and Erasa were glued to the television as they stared directly into fear itself.

"I'm sure many of you may be asking, how is he back? Didn't _Mr. Satan_ defeat him? Well, that conversation is for another time," he said smirking.

He then narrowed his eyes. "The point is, I am expecting the one who defeated me six years ago to return and fight me again. In three days, the Cell Games 2 will commence, and Earth may bring their best fighters to challenge me, one on one. After I have defeated them, with the World Martial Arts Tournament rules, of course, I will destroy the Earth," he said then smirked.

Cell could just feel the fear imitating from the Earth. Yes, the look of fear on human's faces was so satisfying to him. His confidence was so high right given his preparedness in Hell. Yes, his time is now, and this time he would not be made a fool of.

"Oh, and Videl Satan, I do expect you to be there, along with your _father,_ " he said on national television.

Then suddenly the television went blank. One could only imagine what had happened at the television station. This time, Cell's patience was not as high this go around given the fact the Cell Games 2 was only in three days.

"This is insane!" whimpered Erasa.

Videl meanwhile, settled in a state of fear. Cell had requested him. Of course, he would given the _friendship_ she had with Mito. She should have known something was off about him. Ever since meeting Mito, she could tell something as wrong with him. She would never have thought it was because of Cell and it appeared Cell followed Gohan to school, unbeknownst to him.

Her thoughts wandered back to her _friend,_ Son Gohan. The dorky teenager had entered her friend group, and at first, Videl didn't want to have anything to do with him, but after a while, she realized how incredible of a person he was. What she didn't know was that Gohan was in fact at the Cell Games at just a child. She couldn't even fathom going to the Cell Games now and he did it when he was an eleven year old boy? Who was the hero now?

Mr. Satan meanwhile needed to be alone. The thought of disappointing her daughter and coming clean with his lie was too much to handle right now. He needed to hide and get away.

"I need to train," was all he said as he exited the room leaving Videl, Erasa, and Sharpner alone in his office.

Videl was slightly saddened that his father was not going to spend time with her, but she understood his duty to the planet Earth. What she didn't know was his true reason for exiting the room.

"What are we going to do?" Erasa whispered.

"I don't know!" cried Sharpner.

Videl was scared for her life, but she had to show up to the Cell Games 2. If her father were going, she would too. But what about Gohan? Would he show up there also? _He has to! He is the Delivery Boy!_

Gohan was much more than the Delivery Boy as she found out today. She'd always suspect him hiding something but this? The question remained, was he strong enough to defeat Cell? She doubted that but seeing how he bounced back after taking that absurdly strong punch from Cell, she was beginning to question that. How could her father survive such a punch from Cell?

"What about Gohan?" Erasa gulped.

"I don't know," responded Sharpner.

"We all saw what happened! Gohan is powerful! I don't think those are tricks anymore," whimpered Erasa.

"Yeah," Sharpner agreed.

"Videl?" said Erasa.

"Yeah?"

"What do you think? How can your dad still call those tricks? They seemed so _real_ ," explained Erasa.

Truthfully, she had no idea how her father could call those tricks. They were not tricks. They were genuine, and her father had either been lying about those tricks, or he was misinformed. However, that logic made no sense to her because her father was at the Cell Games the entire time and the skirmish with Cell and Gohan today, if she could even call that, lasted just a few minutes. Also, her father's reaction to finding out about Cell just now was just off. Something didn't fit right with her, yet she had to defend her father. Was there something bigger here that she was missing? _I mean, dad defeated Cell, right?_

She cursed her self for questioned her father. She had never done so before, so why should she entertain such thoughts now. Despite what Cell had said under Mito, also what Gohan had just done that day, and how real those tricks were, she couldn't believe otherwise. They had to be tricks, and her father _did_ in fact defeat Cell. She had to remain positive. Her father would beat Cell again and this time for good.

"I don't know Erasa! The only thing I know is that dad _did_ defeat Cell six years ago, and he _will_ defeat him again!" she said confidently.

Despite the confidence in her voice, she admittedly deep down was concerned and _even_ questioned if her father could defeat Cell. It was different seeing Cell in person, and he terrified her to no end. She had to remain positive, if not for herself, for her friends. She sighed at the events of the day.

* * *

Meanwhile, little progress had been made up at the lookout. They still were not sure what the best course of action was. Normally, Goku took the lead in these situations despite the group effort, and without Goku, they were at a loss. Gohan although, realized he needed to take charge and follow in his footsteps, but how?

"I'm going in the hyperbolic time chamber, alone. Clearly, I am the strongest fighter and the one that will take on Cell," Vegeta explained.

"Umm," Mr. Popo said looking toward Dende and Piccolo for advice.

Piccolo nodded. "Yes, the chamber wouldn't hurt, but you had better return before your hour is up. Mr. Popo can you lead Vegeta to the time chamber?"

Mr. Popo nodded and started walking toward the man building on the platform of Kami's Lookout. "Right this way."

Right before Vegeta followed Mr. Popo, he heard a plane in the distance. He squinted his eyes and sensed out the ki in the plane. It was none other than his _wife_ for better terms.

"It's Bulma!" said Gohan.

The plane landed, and Bulma immediately jumped out.

"I came as soon as I heard the news!" shrieked Bulma. She got a good look at the group and saw Gohan, who had his clothes all torn up.

"Oh my god! What happened Gohan?" Bulma asked.

Gohan sighed. "Cell happened. It's a long story, but he challenged me at school. I didn't even see it coming, and he caught me off guard."

Bulma felt for her godson. She so wished that her best friend, Son Goku was still alive to give guidance, be positive, and help solve the situation. Something about Goku just screamed positivity, ever since he was just a child when they traveled the Earth looking for dragon balls. She shook her head at the thought of Son Goku.

"Vegeta! Just where do you think you're going mister?" she shot.

"Woman. I am going into the time chamber to train _alone_. I will be out in one Earth hour," he said in a serious tone as he continued to walk with Mr. Popo.

She sighed. Training was the only solution for Vegeta. She knew better after traveling the world with Goku, going through Space to fight an evil tyrant, and dealing with Cell six years ago. Yes, she had been through a lot and this time was no different. They would succeed, even if it were without Goku. They _had_ to.

Piccolo had never seen Vegeta so serious before. Usually, he would go into battle without a plan based on his pride, but this time, something was different about him.

"Trunks. Goten. Boys, what on earth are you doing up here?" asked Bulma.

Piccolo stepped in. "They came to the battlefield, along with all of us. They are safe here though."

She sighed. Yes, they were safer with Krillin, Gohan, and Piccolo than with herself. Of course, the two boys followed the others. They wanted to be a part in this just like all the stories they had heard over their short lives.

"So what's the plan? Please tell me we have a plan?"

Gohan, Piccolo, and Krillin looked away. There was no plan as of yet, and they needed one soon.

 **A/N:** Again, I have no excuse for taking so long to update. Honestly, I got caught up this summer with an internship and had little time to write. On top of that, the time I did have to write, I spent it on my other story, Burden of Lies. Honestly, this story is much more fun to write (probably because it's the most AU I have written), but I'm struggling with ideas here. Should Goku return? I think not, but what do you think? Either way, I am so thankful for all the PMs and reviews trying to get me to hurry up. I hear you, and I promise I will complete this story. We are a long way from completion (not even halfway) so lots more to come. I promise to update sooner rather than later. Thank you.


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